Search results

You know for certain it was a queen? I haven't seen anything to confirm that to be the case. If it was a queen then by definition I agree it must have overwintered. But that's not the question. The question is where did it overwinter. The fact that it was found in a potting shed means very...

? Tosh. I was referring to the BBKA traffic light circular. Never did I pass it off as my own idea. What I have tried to do though is give some practical advice to make the risk based approach more relevant and practical. Congratulations.

All vespines do. One of the tasks of an incumbent queen is to destroy eggs laid by sterile workers until such time as drones need to be produced. Then she will either lay eggs that have not been fertilized or allow eggs laid by workers to develop.

There's a world of difference between confirmed and reported sightings. Why would you expect the NBU to report suspected sightings? There is definitely a need for alerts to be raised. The question is how to achieve this calmly and effectively. What is required is cool heads with a defined sense...

"Nigel Semmence, NBU 2016 - 2022 rough 2 nests a year + 13 individual sightings with no nests 2023 72 nests, 56 locations all in ports and coastal areas 20,000 sightings reported, 150 were accurate." This is precisely why I caution about the drive to engage lay members of the public. 19,850...

Appreciate the clarification. Thank you. I didn't want to assume and your comment could be read either way. Nevertheless gossip such as this needs to be quashed otherwise the great and the good uninformed will wreak havoc with destructive mitigation measures.

And has this been verified with Nigel who presumably is authorised to talk on behalf of the APHA?

Rather not. There's a reason why Western society is falling apart and why young people have the highest rates of mental illness ever known. Who is Nigel?

Isn't the title to this thread scaremongering? Given the volume of traffic from France I'm surprised we haven't seen more velutina popping up. Doesn't mean it's established or likely to become established. Hopefully we won't get any strong easterly winds this spring. Any idea if these were...

It wouldn't surprise me at all if this were a consequence of agchem run off: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D7LFbL4-lIbs&ved=2ahUKEwiq97XenIKFAxXGUkEAHc3mCwkQwqsBegQIDxAE&usg=AOvVaw2nOFncJBSP-m-wKPKJ9VRt

Sugar for honey? Love a drizzle of honey on porridge in the morning. No way I'd replace it with sugar. Blasphemy!

Which is completely disingenuous. It is not dogma to challenge devastatingly harmful prophylactic highly potent pesticides. As systemics neonics persist in the food we eat. It is utter garbage that they are selective for insect receptors and therefore not harmful to humans. Neonics have effects...

Love to but I am drowing at the moment trying to keep the UK supplied with medicines. Hopefully the situation will ease come the end of the year and I'll be able to honour the invitations I have already received. It is a difficult balance to strike when there is fear driving a lot of uninformed...

As the beauty or the beast? Not a podcast that I was aware of. Interesting dynamic though of pest controllers who are also vested in bee keeping. I will if I get the chance watch the podcasts fully. I was disappointed with the first episode which focused on spring trapping and mitigation...

Two little thoughts: Vespines demand respect because they are hazardous insects. Placing a bait station next to a doorway invites unnecessary risk. You can improve the appeal of your bait station by changing the colour of the brown tub to bright apple red or lemon yellow.

Not the same thing. Reliability is a separate issue. It's one thing to have a phone on the blink that can be fixed or changed. Quite something else to lose phones completely during power outages or network disruption. Many young people would have a mental meltdown if they were to lose their...

I think it comes down to interpretation to some extent. Substituting in kill traps where velutina has been detected on bait stations is perfectly rational. What's not rational is using kill traps 'prophylactically' in the absence of any evidence of the presence of velutina. Slightly more...

Thank you. Error corrected. To confirm, the number of traps was calculated on km.

Hindsight is a wonderful but frequently elusive thing. Not frustrated. More concerned. There are a lot of good people investing a considerable amount of their energy, time and passion into a deserving hobby/occupation and I would hate to see that undermined by a lack of understanding. The...

Better!