Asian Hornet - Gloucestershire

[Plenty of honey]

This could lead to a mass exodus of devoted two hive owners to places like Finland, where their bees won't be harassed by Asian Hornets.

At the moment Better take out shares in Terrapin heaters and kingspan!!!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Or something was imported here, possibly via Bristol docks.

What? sneaked in on a Grimaldi car carrier in the boot of a Fiat 500?

 

[Hivemaker.]

DNA is being tested to confirm it is in fact an Asian hornet.

...or

A Defra spokesman said, the hornet found in the Tetbury area had been killed and was undergoing DNA testing to establish how it arrived in the UK.

 

[domino]

I assume they are checking to see if it came from France.

 

[Stiffy]

What? sneaked in on a Grimaldi car carrier in the boot of a Fiat 500?

Along with a bucket load of small hive beetles.........don't panic Mr Mannering

 

[Hivemaker.]

I assume they are checking to see if it came from France.

Maybe they are not confident of their visual ability to spot an Asian Hornet, so will need to check the DNA to make sure it is one, as psafloyd wrote.

Be a bugger if it turns out there are lots of them them and they need to check the DNA of all of them, just to be sure they are Asian Hornets.

 

[mazzamazda]

Maybe they are not confident of their visual ability to spot an Asian Hornet, so will need to check the DNA to make sure it is one, as psafloyd wrote.

Be a bugger if it turns out there are lots of them them and they need to check the DNA of all of them, just to be sure they are Asian Hornets.

Haha! If its the one in the picture its 100% an Asian hornet. My interest is if its a worker caught around a hive (in which case there will be more) or just a random worker that may have flown out of a shipping container. I'd doubt it would be a queen.

 

[mazzamazda]

Although i havent experienced your climate, i would imagine the Asian hornet would really do well in Portugal. Hotter in general than in France! I am glad i am not trying to keep Bees in your area, sounds a nightmare!!
We actually have had a good year re numbers, although this is really our only third year with the little darlings, its the worse June in these three years, so I think that why they were slow to get going.
How much trapping to they do in the spring? sounds as thought the authorities might not have bothered??

Yes the hornets do really well usually, I dont tend to see them in really hot (above 30o) weather. How many Asian hornet workers do you tend to have around your hives at any one time? Its our third year too, last year was the worst by far, I actually knew where the nest was, reported it and it still wasnt destroyed, It was as you said, in a really difficult place to get to and had permission to chop down the tree but if I was ambushed by them I doubt I could have got out alive, the nest was around 1 metre long. The authorities leave you to everything, I trap but you cant spend all your time chasing hornets as you know.

No disrespect to people on here complaining about bee inspectors but in the UK they really dont know how easy they have it. If you report a disease for example beekeepers run, certainly dont help and the authorities dont even bother themselves to document it never mind offer any kind of help. One of the big reasons I'm relocating to the UK with some of my hives. I'm guessing AFB, EFB isnt a problem in France? Do you have bee inspectors?

 

[Quis Custodiet]

...................................................

Be a bugger if it turns out there are lots of them them and they need to check the DNA of all of them, just to be sure they are Asian Hornets.

Fortunately, there is possibly a solution. The Federation of Irish Beekeeping Associations has decided to search for genetic diversity in the honeybee population of this island. There does not seem to be any indications of what their terms of reference are, what they hope to achieve or how the task may best be accomplished.
Free of such encumbrances they have enrolled the assistance of students, in some polytech type establishment in the deep south! Perhaps the NBU could approach some, possibly inner city, schools and obtain similar able assistance?
Surveys are not without risks, about three years ago the Irish Native Honeybee Society engaged students in their quest to show that AMM was still extant in Ireland. They will not release the findings of the survey......word is most of the AMM here is derived from bees imported from Europe in the early part of the last century.

 

[Millet]

I assume they are checking to see if it came from France.

Thats easily worked out, it was obviously wearing a stripy pull over but was it riding a peddle bike with garlic around its neck, now that is the question i would like answered..

 

[Plenty of honey]

Yes the hornets do really well usually, I dont tend to see them in really hot (above 30o) weather. How many Asian hornet workers do you tend to have around your hives at any one time? Its our third year too, last year was the worst by far, I actually knew where the nest was, reported it and it still wasnt destroyed, It was as you said, in a really difficult place to get to and had permission to chop down the tree but if I was ambushed by them I doubt I could have got out alive, the nest was around 1 metre long. The authorities leave you to everything, I trap but you cant spend all your time chasing hornets as you know.

No disrespect to people on here complaining about bee inspectors but in the UK they really dont know how easy they have it. If you report a disease for example beekeepers run, certainly dont help and the authorities dont even bother themselves to document it never mind offer any kind of help. One of the big reasons I'm relocating to the UK with some of my hives. I'm guessing AFB, EFB isnt a problem in France? Do you have bee inspectors?

A max of two in front of any one time but that is a max. I do spend a lot of time trapping and it seems to help a lot. however where we are in northern brittany there is a lot of trees and valleys. this makes nest accessibility virtually impossible is you do find the blasted thing. I will probably get to a point where if there is a nest i will be pinning down individuals and treating each one with fipronil. (the spray you spray on dogs to remove ticks) then releasing them. They make their way back to the nest and you only need to spray about 10 to 20 and usually thats enough to seriously poison the nest. The thing with fipronil is it dosent work straight away and it makes it back to the nest. This is proven to work well but only in a situation where there is a lot of hornets near you and also it dosent affect any common hornets by this method.

We used to have Veterinary inspectors but now our local "GDSA" (group Sanitaire des Abeilles 22) will apparently be carrying out the inspections.
But I've never been inspected in 7 years . I want inspections.

No AFP near me, but i hear that there was a lot is Normandy this spring, linked also to the terrible spring.
My colleague had 3 cases of EFP at his apiary but he did a Bailey change and then requeened and all cleared up. We have a new vet thats just spent 5 weeks on and off with us, so i suppose I've really had unofficial inspections. He will be advising and giving out meds prescriptions under the veterinary directive with the GDSA. Its good to be in the know of who's who, but thats as far it goes here.
Ive always declared everything that has bees in it but its a miracle were not inundated with disease outbreaks, because lots of farmers, who know everything about beekeeping have a hive or two tucked away at the bottom of a field, and dont inspect from harvest to harvest time and do nothing with it ever.

This has to stop!!!


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=13584&stc=1&d=1474526684
Photographed yesterday, no movement from it, so its a dead out!!

this is however going a little off topic!!

 

[mazzamazda]

A max of two in front of any one time but that is a max. I do spend a lot of time trapping and it seems to help a lot. however where we are in northern brittany there is a lot of trees and valleys. this makes nest accessibility virtually impossible is you do find the blasted thing. I will probably get to a point where if there is a nest i will be pinning down individuals and treating each one with fipronil. (the spray you spray on dogs to remove ticks) then releasing them. They make their way back to the nest and you only need to spray about 10 to 20 and usually thats enough to seriously poison the nest. The thing with fipronil is it dosent work straight away and it makes it back to the nest. This is proven to work well but only in a situation where there is a lot of hornets near you and also it dosent affect any common hornets by this method.

We used to have Veterinary inspectors but now our local "GDSA" (group Sanitaire des Abeilles 22) will apparently be carrying out the inspections.
But I've never been inspected in 7 years . I want inspections.

No AFP near me, but i hear that there was a lot is Normandy this spring, linked also to the terrible spring.
My colleague had 3 cases of EFP at his apiary but he did a Bailey change and then requeened and all cleared up. We have a new vet thats just spent 5 weeks on and off with us, so i suppose I've really had unofficial inspections. He will be advising and giving out meds prescriptions under the veterinary directive with the GDSA. Its good to be in the know of who's who, but thats as far it goes here.
Ive always declared everything that has bees in it but its a miracle were not inundated with disease outbreaks, because lots of farmers, who know everything about beekeeping have a hive or two tucked away at the bottom of a field, and dont inspect from harvest to harvest time and do nothing with it ever.

This has to stop!!!


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=13584&stc=1&d=1474526684
Photographed yesterday, no movement from it, so its a dead out!!

this is however going a little off topic!!

That is amazing, I was wondering if there was any way of poisoning them, I have a perfect way to do it, stun them with an electronic racket, stuns them for about 5 mins then off they go, easy. Guess where im off to today! I wish I had contacted you earlier.

Its good that you have some support, all we have to do is register the hives, location and quantity, to be honest I think it would be easier flying under the radar as I already have had a fine due to proximity less than 100m from a house, it was around 88m. There are so many back street beekeepers here too, I was asked to look after an old fellas hives, they were 30m high on his roof, I went up once on a rickety ladder, it needed new hives, the frames were rotton inside and they were the angriest bees I have ever seen. I'm sure you can picture it. He just wanted the honey, I've avoided him since.

I'll let you know how I get on with Fipronil.

 

[peteinwilts]

Apparently there is a parasite in the vespa world that makes them sterile. (Un)fortunately it also attacks wasps, which even though I have a huge dislike for them, undertand the good that they do, particularly early in the season...

.... and I should hide from Karol for even saying it! ;-)

 

[Plenty of honey]

That is amazing, I was wondering if there was any way of poisoning them, I have a perfect way to do it, stun them with an electronic racket, stuns them for about 5 mins then off they go, easy. Guess where im off to today! I wish I had contacted you earlier.

Its good that you have some support, all we have to do is register the hives, location and quantity, to be honest I think it would be easier flying under the radar as I already have had a fine due to proximity less than 100m from a house, it was around 88m. There are so many back street beekeepers here too, I was asked to look after an old fellas hives, they were 30m high on his roof, I went up once on a rickety ladder, it needed new hives, the frames were rotton inside and they were the angriest bees I have ever seen. I'm sure you can picture it. He just wanted the honey, I've avoided him since.

I'll let you know how I get on with Fipronil.

You can also make a large mesh cage up. looking a bit like an umbrella blown inside out in the wind. the handle is actually tubular and hollow, so you basically invert the whole thing over the hornet, wait for it to crawl up towards the hole in the mesh handle, then thats when you spray it. then you release it. I think i have a picture of said apparatus, will see if i can dig it out. I will consider making one myself this winter. Its just another thing to do!! lol
PM me then we can swap details etc,


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=13585&stc=1&d=1474547511

 

[Dared]

I'm just learning how to deal with them out here and have put some traps out but also resorting to the old squash racket trap!! I think it will inevitably be just another thing you have to deal with!
The nests I have found so far are actually quite small with colonies made up of 20 -50 hornets, definitly not seen the large nests shown elsewhere.

 

[Fritillary]

(Nonsense post - had missed previous from Dared)

 

[Karol]

No point in using the Fipronil once the hornets are sweet feeding. Next year's queens will already have left the nest.

Don't know if Asian hornets collect dead bees from the hives but if they do then it might be better to lace a few dead honey bees. That way the sexual progeny will be hit which will inhibit spread. Quite a risky strategy in my opinion as you'll have to be extraordinarily careful that the Fipronil doesn't migrate to the hive.

 

[mazzamazda]

Yes it is powerful stuff, I'm not sure if im succeeding or not. I'm stunning them, taking them a good hundred yards away from the apiary, putting them in an upturned jar waiting until a few wake up, lifting the jar and giving them a blast with exactly that product, I soaked the first hornet, was stone dead in a second two squirts kills them in about 5 seconds. I find for them to fly away its just a tiny mist, still learning but this is way way better fun than squatting or trapping. I'm wondering if a drop of the stuff on the wings and abdomen might be better? I'm not sure if they are making it back to the nest. I'll PM you now.

My Asian hornets only prey on live bees as far as I have ever seen and still a few months off sweet stuff unfortunately.

 

[rje66]

Anyone been stung by a hornet??? Sore???

 

[Erichalfbee]

Anyone been stung by a hornet??? Sore???

Yes
Not Asian Hornets though
I was hiking in turkey with a group and I was at the back taking pictures. They came from absolutely nowhere and attacked my face and head. We counted twenty stings when I had run far enough away for them to abandon me and I had calmed down and ceased my hysterics. I suspect they had put up with the group marching through near the nest till they had enough and hammered me. I was in tears for half a day with the pain. I eventually just anaesthetised myself with gin. I was a little sore next day but not much. I think the hangover was worse