Asian Hornet Christchurch Hampshire

[jenkinsbrynmair]

my guess is, same as last year, primary and secondary nests still running, pointing towards a colony struggling to fully establish itself before the winter closes in.

 

[Karol]

If one looks closely at a VV nest then there are a couple of structural deficiencies compared to native wasp nests that seriously impede the success of VV in our climate. The first is the ratio of insulation to the volume of the nest and the second is the number of openings both serving to increase thermal losses all of which places considerable and I would say overwhelming energy demands on the colony which workers can't sustain given the lower insect densities in the UK. Hence another reason in addition to biomass I would suggest for the high rate of sweet feeding during the hunting phase of their life cycle.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It also doesn't help when the BBKA 'expert' hasn't a clue of the difference between a primary (foundress) nest and the secondary nest so their last bulletin was confusing, to be kind. Or the usual rubbish misinformation if you want to be honest

 

[Erichalfbee]

Now I’m confused.
Is the second best another primary or a secondary?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Now I’m confused.
Is the second best another primary or a secondary?

That's the issue - BBKA have no clue as to the difference.

The first nest found, due to it's size and location high up in a tree is obviously a secondary nest.
The secondary nest was found at ground level and has been stated somewhere to have been a primary nest. We need official confirmation of this though as secondary nests have been found at ground level in the past few years

 

[For want of a better word]

That's the issue - BBKA have no clue

To be fair... it does depend upon which book the " BBKA Expert" has read.... from my own experience of the BBKA experts... they seem rarely to have any practical experience of beekeeping let alone wider entomology!



Chons da

 

[For want of a better word]

Now I’m confused.
Is the second best another primary or a secondary?

Typo... but possibly true!!

Chond da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

OK, so the true story is, the first (highest) nest found was a very small, poorly established secondary nest (about 6" diameter) the second found nearby was a normal sized primary nest.
My guess? new import queen, late arrival this season rather than an overwintered one or, further proof that velutina will struggle to establish themselves in the UK.
I'm sure we will get more information on this one eventually.