Trunkles
New Bee
Hello fellow bee keepers..
Although a similar post to this can be found in "Beginners" and in another thread in this forum I realised that it would be more appropriate for this thread starter to run in its own right, so apologies for posting again
Martyn Hocking who was the informant on the Woolacombe Hornets ( it was his hives they were raiding) wrote an article for the bee keeping magazines which makes very interesting reading.
Martyn was somewhat aggrieved by the way he was kept in the dark by NBU et al. Some of us in Devon were nonplussed by the lack of advice and action from the authorities and so we have created a DBKA initiative to set up Asian Hornet Action Teams.
These teams will be manned by well prepared members of local BKAs and we will hope to receive reports of AH (and other misidentified suspects) , go out to locations and help informants Positively identify or rule out AH, get photographic evidence, capture sample insect, and begin the process of triangulating proble nest location.
We are not trying to usurp the function of NBU, NNSS, or local Bee Inspectors but there are just not the numbers of professionals to cope if we get multiple incursions of V.v. We also hope that AHATs will be active in publicizing the threat and educating the general public about the problem and the insect.
We have identified the camping fraternity ( types) as possible vectors for transport of queen V.vs duing the months through from autumn to spring. Campers love riverside and lakeside camping grounds with trees and Asian Hornets. We think individual fertil queens may seek hibernation oportunities in the cosy spaces provided by camping units and gear. As owners come home for the new spring the queen wil fly to found nests i the UK
I for one am putting threads(which have generally been well received) on camping forums) in the hope of getting as many people to appreciate the problem and what to do about it. I am also canvassing ferry ports to see what policies they have to warn about V.v and other Non-Native Insect species at points of departure and arrival.
Just today (7/12/17) I have been told that BBKA and NBU website are seriously out of date regarding Vespa velutina appearances and the entries on the websites reporting these. My colleagues in the DBKA initiative are trying to get the organisations to put things right, but if we do not get up to date information from them we are seriously handicapped as bee keepers in preparing for the onslaught of a major invasion of V.v
Hopefully our initiative will spread as we have an Asian Hornet open meeting arranged in Harberton, Devon, where reps from seen other counties are attending along with reps from all the Bee keeping bodies. Martyn will be a main speaker and hopefully there will be some lively discussion about what can be done and our plans.
If any of you guys and gals can think of anything we should discuss there....please post here.
Thanks for reading
Although a similar post to this can be found in "Beginners" and in another thread in this forum I realised that it would be more appropriate for this thread starter to run in its own right, so apologies for posting again
Martyn Hocking who was the informant on the Woolacombe Hornets ( it was his hives they were raiding) wrote an article for the bee keeping magazines which makes very interesting reading.
Martyn was somewhat aggrieved by the way he was kept in the dark by NBU et al. Some of us in Devon were nonplussed by the lack of advice and action from the authorities and so we have created a DBKA initiative to set up Asian Hornet Action Teams.
These teams will be manned by well prepared members of local BKAs and we will hope to receive reports of AH (and other misidentified suspects) , go out to locations and help informants Positively identify or rule out AH, get photographic evidence, capture sample insect, and begin the process of triangulating proble nest location.
We are not trying to usurp the function of NBU, NNSS, or local Bee Inspectors but there are just not the numbers of professionals to cope if we get multiple incursions of V.v. We also hope that AHATs will be active in publicizing the threat and educating the general public about the problem and the insect.
We have identified the camping fraternity ( types) as possible vectors for transport of queen V.vs duing the months through from autumn to spring. Campers love riverside and lakeside camping grounds with trees and Asian Hornets. We think individual fertil queens may seek hibernation oportunities in the cosy spaces provided by camping units and gear. As owners come home for the new spring the queen wil fly to found nests i the UK
I for one am putting threads(which have generally been well received) on camping forums) in the hope of getting as many people to appreciate the problem and what to do about it. I am also canvassing ferry ports to see what policies they have to warn about V.v and other Non-Native Insect species at points of departure and arrival.
Just today (7/12/17) I have been told that BBKA and NBU website are seriously out of date regarding Vespa velutina appearances and the entries on the websites reporting these. My colleagues in the DBKA initiative are trying to get the organisations to put things right, but if we do not get up to date information from them we are seriously handicapped as bee keepers in preparing for the onslaught of a major invasion of V.v
Hopefully our initiative will spread as we have an Asian Hornet open meeting arranged in Harberton, Devon, where reps from seen other counties are attending along with reps from all the Bee keeping bodies. Martyn will be a main speaker and hopefully there will be some lively discussion about what can be done and our plans.
If any of you guys and gals can think of anything we should discuss there....please post here.
Thanks for reading
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as soon as spring founding queens are occupied with continuous laying in nests, its time to just treat individual workers. trophy hunting unless a nest is easily found and accessible, is a waste of resources and time. just treat the workers. job done, quickly and efficiently.
.. i have seen a video somewhere else of someone trapping them and spraying them and then releasing them, i will try to find it.
