Asian Hornet Alderney confirmed

[isc26]

Guernsey Government press release

An adult hornet was found last week in Alderney by a States of Alderney employee and has since been positively identified by the UK's National Bee Unit as being a non-native Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina). The nearby nest and larvae were destroyed as a precaution.

The Asian Hornet is smaller than the more common native European hornet and poses a significant threat to honey bees and other pollinators (please refer to the size guide download available on this page). Beekeepers in Alderney and Guernsey have been notified of the identification of the Asian hornet. The States of Guernsey is working closely with the States of Jersey, Sark Government (including Brecqhou), and Herm Island Ltd to ensure all are aware of this finding.

The Guernsey Beekeeping Association has advised its members on steps to increase vigilance and monitoring of bee hives through the use of hornet traps. It is anticipated that sightings of Asian Hornet are most likely around bee hives as it is an aggressive predator of honey bees, but there is no indication that it is in Guernsey or the other Bailiwick islands. Asian Hornets frequently nest high in trees and if any suspect hornet nest is found the States of Guernsey will arrange for inspection and any necessary eradication.

As with wasps and bees, hornets have a painful sting so people should avoid direct contact and never attempt to disturb a hornet's nest.

This hornet is not the same as the Mandarin or Giant Asian hornet (Vespa mandarinia) which is much larger and found in China. It has not been found in the UK or Europe.

Anyone who thinks they have seen an Asian Hornet is asked to first read the Asian Hornet ID sheet on the National Bee Unit's website: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/public/News/news.cfm?all=y#170

If they then consider they have an Asian hornet after reading the ID sheet they should report it to this email address [email protected] and to [email protected], Tel: 01481 707612 or to [email protected] Tel: 01481 717200.

Any sightings in Alderney should be reported to the States of Alderney Tel: 01481 822408 or 07781 101954.

For sightings in Sark please contact [email protected]

Notes:

Asian Hornets were accidentally introduced to Charente Maritime in south west France in 2004 in a shipment of pottery from China. Since then the Asian Hornet has spread northwards through France as it colonises urban, agricultural and wooded areas.


https://www.gov.gg/article/155332/Asian-Hornet-identified-in-Alderney

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-36866310

 

[Karol]

The channel Islands are still far beyond the flight range of any hornet. I shouldn't worry too much as the news hasn't changed the risk profile to the UK mainland in the least.

 

[Cussword]

Shirley it can't get to the UK now because of Brexit.

 

[Karol]

Didn't you hear? Brexit won't cure immigration.

 

[Worldsend]

May not be able to fly here but can catch the boat!

 

[Karol]

And it would have to be a viable inseminated queen or rather a number of viable inseminated queens. There is also a very narrow window for the queens to get across and establish themselves. Remember that only 1 queen for every 1500 produced will survive so the chance of velutina getting to the UK are very small.

 

[domino]

Remember that only 1 queen for every 1500 produced will survive so the chance of velutina getting to the UK are very small.

Why is the number so low?

 

[Chiangmai member]

Would have to disagree with Karol. The spread of V velutina throughout France and beyond, is thought by some to have been through a single foundress hibernating in a potted bonsai imported from China. Good to hear that the Alderney nest was located and destroyed. (Was it the first?). Worth mobilising resources to make sure that no late summer queen producing colonies make it. We are just going into the velutina season here in Northern Thailand. Trust me UK beekeepers, you do not want this pest in your backyard!

 

[Karol]

Why is the number so low?

Predation, exposure, starvation and supercedure.

 

[Karol]

Would have to disagree with Karol. The spread of V velutina throughout France and beyond, is thought by some to have been through a single foundress hibernating in a potted bonsai imported from China. Good to hear that the Alderney nest was located and destroyed. (Was it the first?). Worth mobilising resources to make sure that no late summer queen producing colonies make it. We are just going into the velutina season here in Northern Thailand. Trust me UK beekeepers, you do not want this pest in your backyard!

My understanding is that velutina came over in a shipment of clay pottery. DNA studies suggest that the French population came from either a small cohort of imported queens or a single foundress:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-015-0880-9

Personally I'm of the opinion that there was more than one import event. Given that the pottery would be coming from the same single location in China on repeated occasions at roughly the same time of year it is highly likely that more than one queen was imported. The local velutina population that acted as the exporting source of queens is likely to have had a similar DNA profile which would still explain the lack of differentiation in the French population.

 

[mazzamazda]

Would have to disagree with Karol. The spread of V velutina throughout France and beyond, is thought by some to have been through a single foundress hibernating in a potted bonsai imported from China. Good to hear that the Alderney nest was located and destroyed. (Was it the first?). Worth mobilising resources to make sure that no late summer queen producing colonies make it. We are just going into the velutina season here in Northern Thailand. Trust me UK beekeepers, you do not want this pest in your backyard!

I couldnt agree more, they took millions of my bees last year. I really hope I'm not being too optimistic here but up to now I have seen very few this year and it should be hammer time right now. It has however been the worst beekeeping year in 30 years here so hopefully the same for VV.

 

[Truble]

Remember that only 1 queen for every 1500 produced will survive so the chance of velutina getting to the UK are very small.

Is this right? The national bee unit quote that each colony of asian hornets make on average 350 queens. If only one in 1500 survive the breeding index is well below 1 and they should be extinct.

 

[Karol]

The NBU use figures produced by Villemant. Choi on the other hand states that velutina can produce sexuals in the thousands. The number of sexuals produced is related to nest size which is variable from 6000 to 12000. There's also the issue that velutina in France appears to be inhibited because of the lack of allele diversity leading to acharactistic nests with for example early males being produced to mate with workers.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the numbers as there's considerable variation between nests and seasons. Let's just say that the vast majority of queens die. Choi (and Archer) phrase it as more than 99% of hibernating queens.

Interestingly velutina has not been able to establish itself in Belgium despite being identified in 2011.

 

[Truble]

Actually, Choi states the total number of Asian Hornets in a single nest can be as high as 1000-1200. You may be confusing his total numbers of worker hornets for queens or thinking all the reproductives are queens. As Choi et al., 2012; Archer, 2012 say the reproductives can also number up to a 1000....they are including drones in this which constitute the vast majority.

 

[domino]

I couldnt agree more, they took millions of my bees last year. I really hope I'm not being too optimistic here but up to now I have seen very few this year and it should be hammer time right now. It has however been the worst beekeeping year in 30 years here so hopefully the same for VV.

How do you manage them over there?

 

[domino]

My understanding is that velutina came over in a shipment of clay pottery. DNA studies suggest that the French population came from either a small cohort of imported queens or a single foundress:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-015-0880-9

Personally I'm of the opinion that there was more than one import event. Given that the pottery would be coming from the same single location in China on repeated occasions at roughly the same time of year it is highly likely that more than one queen was imported. The local velutina population that acted as the exporting source of queens is likely to have had a similar DNA profile which would still explain the lack of differentiation in the French population.

There was an interesting paper last night suggesting that the hornets in Europe are suffering from inbreeding depression because of lack of genetic diversity.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0136680

 

[Karol]

Assuming that the clay bonsai pots were supplied from the same manufacturer following the same processes and same storage/distribution arrangements then it would be reasonable to assume that more than one queen was imported on more than one occasion. This would still be consistent with a low level of allele diversity.

 

[mazzamazda]

How do you manage them over there?

I dont, I try and catch a few (Thousand) put out traps, electrocute them with the executioner pro. To be honest I dont scratch the surface, I usually put around 40-50 hives in one place to reduce total damage.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Have a look here?
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/protection-against-vespa-velutina/8022

 

[mazzamazda]

Have a look here?
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/protection-against-vespa-velutina/8022

It wont work, 100% wont work, the advice here is similar, close down entrances, from my experience the VV will not enter a hive, ok maybe a weak one. They hover outside and grab a bee trying to get in or out. Anything that slows down a bee entering or exiting a hive will only help them. I'll try and find a pic.