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Well done!

Yes you do see them in winter but the aren't saying "here we are, come and get us!" they are saying "you missed us and we already dispursed hundreds of queens GOOD LUCK!"

Thanks! I'm more than happy to help, its a huge problem here, I have already had a customer this week who has lost 20 out of 60 hives and this is an email received just tonight Boa noite. Ainda tem enxames? Sou de Famalicão e quero repor o meu apiário, uma vez que morreram alguns enxames...

Why dont you organise a few days in Porto, Portugal, a long weekend of Asian hornet catching, I can show you all what to look for, you can trap, experiment, look for nests, I can show you the way I deal with them and you can make your own ideas on how you will deal with them. We can visit local...

My take on this is you are probably better making the hornets come to you too. Why dont you try and set up traps for the queens, I'm not talking the rubbish NBA endorse. Every year, without fail I have VV in empty nucs, I can guarantee I'll have queens in some outside now, It is always quite...

I agree, there are a few points here. Hornets rarely go for syrup, around beehives they go for bees and fipronil goes off after about 6 hours so the window is short for killing any other insect that might feed.

It is suicide so it might happen on occasion, believe me when I say after a good zap food is the last thing on their mind and in all the hornets ive zapped I have not seen a single one enter a hive.

They don't enter beehives though, well I've seen it on very very weak ones but that is rare. They are fuming when zapped and treated so they fly 2-3 times faster in a direct route to the nest. I have heard from a customer who treated neat fipronil over a hive and lost some bees but that would be...

There is a chance of European hornets being targeted although most users would be beekeepers protecting their bees. I can't think of a way colonies of bees could be wiped out.

Correct! The NBU want nothing to do with it. It is in the sticky on the main page. The method is far easier than running around looking for nests. Below is a video of what happens here when they are in full swing, this is as you can see with some effort going into catching workers, trapping...

Not many nucs imported, I see mine are the only 4 listed ones from Portugal, I'd bet there are more than 4.

I agree however there are some brilliant breeders out there who can produce queens I could only dream of, my current lot are out performing my "Locally" produced (by me) queens around 4-1

I've just been making mine up the last few weeks

I agree, I think it depends lots on the colonys too. Last year I had colonies with huge varroa loads, every drone I pulled out was varroa free. Random worker cells were loaded with varroa.

Have you heard of spraying broodless colonies with 1% Oxalic acid, comes from a very reputable source that you know. I'm guessing it is like hiveclean?

Useful information, thank you. Not everyone can treat in the autumn and forget.

Very true, it is my biggest challenge keeping mites down. The flow is great for the new amazing buckfasts but it is still a challenge with keeping mites down with the Ibericas

I have enough for my spring treatment then I'm out. I need to source some more. On another note I have been thinking why Amitraz is so effective here vs OAV. One reason must be, if I treat twice with Amitraz, phoretic mites are being knocked down for 90 days in 360 days, that is a huge...

The recipe I use is less efficient but follows almost exactly the amount of amitraz per strip (500mg) that apitraz uses, cut cardboard strips 20cm by 4cm, I dilute 1-1 amitraz 125mg per 1ml with sunflower oil. Leave the strips in the hive for 45 days. 1l treats approx 125 hives. The legality...

I used to get sytraz (amitraz) for €26 per litre, I treated 360 colonies in the spring with 1.5 litres. It now costs €8 for 100ml, 1l bottles unavailable. Varroa are having a field day.