Recent content by Karol

Just seen an interesting clip purporting 95% reduction in varroa using oregano oil vaporised slowly within the hive. Any thoughts?

Depends on what you mean by the end of the season. Nest maturation is governed by a host of variables that only vespines (sic. velutina) understand. Factors that come into play are prey density and weather. So in the UK the probability of velutina coming to a bait station during the hunting...

Once the sexual progeny have left the nest the queen will stop producing brood so the need to hunt for protein vanishes. Similary, if a queen is killed within a nest, for example as a consequence of FC treatment, the remaining workers will stop hunting once there is no more brood. Bait stations...

Time to KISS things I think. FC isn't warranted in the UK at present because velutina is not established in the UK. IF and when the time comes to use FC it'll be the velutina visiting your hives that will need treating not those that visit bait stations. There's no guarantee that worker...

Anyone think this pythonesque?

Why do you think Fian that honey buzzards are such a rare breed in the UK? Do you think it might possibly be because we have a different ecology to what the bird needs to sustain healthier populations? i.e. the UK doesn't have the prey volume to sustain a large enough vespine or wild apis...

We don't try to laugh at you.

Ahhh! So not bee-eaters but rather honey buzzards! How's that going for you in Spain? Perhaps you should google "honey buzzard + honeycomb". Interesting set of images of honey buzzards carrying away honeycomb. Not a highly specific method wouldn't you say?

So you're using bee-eaters against hornets in Spain? How's that working for you? I always thought that the European bee-eater was partial to honey bees. Hey ho! Despite our apparently similar climate the UK doesn't have bee-eaters. Sparrows and tits but no bee-eaters. Tits are pretty useless...

And your panacea is what precisely?

And still these countries refuse to entertain effective eradication measures. Why? Because of vested commercial interests.

Monitoring and reporting to the NBU IS the national plan. Stop trolling.

The problem will always be 'imports' so action will always be required. The question is what action? The answer is not indiscriminate spring trapping just as it is not to panic. Your posts are unhelpful because you project your experiences from a completely different meteorological...

In which case this is what I would respectfully advise: https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/at-what-point-will-the-nbu-give-up-on-ahs.56610/post-899516 If you detect velutina, ask the NBU what they would like you to do.

Especially now my best mate has moved off the island. 🤣