Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[biobee]

So that everyone has quick access to the National Bee Unit updates on the Asian Hornet, I have added a feed to this page

http://www.biobees.com/bee-keeping-news.php

You can access it directly from the top menu.

[catchercradle]

Thanks for this,

I must admit I suspect that long term we are going to have to learn to live with the Asian Hornet, the only thing that isn't clear yet is whether it will establish itself before or after I get too old to carry on keeping bees myself

[biobee]

I think it is an inevitable consequence of globalization. The fact that they were found in two locations in Devon, separated by 80 miles, far from the previous known locations in Wales and Gloucestershire, is an early indication that we are about to be attacked from multiple entry points. It is easy for a solitary queen to hitch a ride on a ferry under a car, caravan or trailer - or somewhere on the ferry itself - and hop off at this end to find plentiful new territory in which to establish a nest.

I have heard from several beekeepers in France who tell me that they have made it much more difficult to keep bees than before they arrived. We will have to do our best to keep them out, of course, but I can see FERA giving up on this pretty fast when they find their meagre resources stretched to breaking point, which I would guess will happen sometime this year or next.

[Adriaan]

The asian hornet situation in Belgium is possibly even worse. In 2017 at least 7 nests have been identified and destroyed, mostly in the south-west.
Two of them were not found untill late autumn and had already sent out hundreds of queens. Probably not all nests have been found.
New queens may fly 60 km before overwintering and starting a new nest in the following spring.

This spring I will install several monitoring traps.

friendly greetings

Adriaan

[biobee]

Good luck, Adriaan! I'm thinking of buying a shotgun for the first time in my life...

[catchercradle]

I might set up some monitoring traps too. If I find a nest, I am guessing that the method I occasionally use for wasps of covering them with a large pile of grass clippings that will heat up as they rot down will work.

Usually I ignore wasps nests but just occasionally they build one in a place that is too inconvenient for me to live with.

[Adriaan]

Monitoring traps are best used in early spring when the young queens go out to find energie rich food to help them build an embryonic nest. This nest is not very high off the ground.
Somewhat later when their numbers reach maybe 50, they swarm and build a new nest high in a treetop where they are nearly invisible and untouchable.
You would need a huge pile of grass to cover that nest.

my plan is to call in the proper authorities and let them deal with it

friendly greetings

Adriaan