Asian Hornet - Update

[Vortex]

As I can't link directly to the UK Beekeeping Facebook groups this was posted by Simon Cavill earlier:

Update on the Asian hornet discovery in Gloucester.
The hornet was found by a beekeeper and other beekeepers in the immediate area have found hornets hawking in front of their hives. There is a 20 Km incident zone around the hive and the National Bee Unit ( NBU) are currently looking for the hive. If they find it they will destroy it.

Fortunately the NBU have been expecting it for some time and had a contingency plan ready to go.

They have caught several hornets and looked at their genetics and these hornets are related to those in France and Alderney. So they have not come in from China. This is important because they are obviously breeding from quite a small genetic pool and have already been weakened from inbreeding. And we have to ask ourselves if they flew directly from France to Gloucester. Unlikely we think. So maybe they are in other parts of the country. We don't know at this stage.

However, so far every hornet found has been found by a beekeeper.
As you may know, if the hornets gain access to a colony they will bring the rest of their nest mates and the colony will be destroyed very quickly. Our European bees have no natural defences.

The NBU team are currently examining every hive in the incident zone. But the problem is they cannot be sure they know the whereabouts of every beekeeper and every hive.

So please:
If you are not already registered on BeeBase, please register now.
If you are already registered please update your entry to ensure all your apiaries are included.

Also please look through any wasp traps you have up to see if there are any hornets in there. And you might want to put some traps up, the same as for wasps

 

[Plenty of honey]

As I can't link directly to the UK Beekeeping Facebook groups this was posted by Simon Cavill earlier:

Thanks for the update, but lets make one thing absolutely clear, a few Asian hornets in front of a hive will not destroy the hive. They will not enter the hive until its extremely weak, to a level that common hornets and wasps will do the same. I have only heard of a few beekeepers in the south of France that have lost hives to Asian hornets and they didn't trap queens in the spring, and they did not have the correct entrance reducer fitted to the hive at the correct time. In other words they didn't manage the problem correctly. Theres has been some pretty sensationalising headlines this week, at the sad news that the Asian Hornet has made inroads in to the Uk, but the truth is, they are not going to do the damage that has been publicised.

I have witnessed this year many common hornets taking bees from in front of the hive and its no different to the AsianHornet, in its lust in bee bodies for protein.
Now the ivy is in flower lots of hornets are moving their hunting to where insects gather, over and around flowering ivy, so this week we've seen a dramatic drop in hunting in front of the hive. so sadly were not seing a true reflection of whats going on.
Its also very likely that even if an Asian hornets nest did successfully make queens that dispersed in October, the subsequent nests the following years would likely be far smaller than those of the continent due to the lack of heat earlier in the year.
The poor variety of genetic material has been studied in France a couple of years ago and was reckoned to be originating from only a few queens. So that will certainly help things in the long term. I am not discrediting what has been said all i am saying is based on my three years of dealing with them and other beekeepers in the areas south of me. Ive said this before, you will deal with it!! its a walk in the park compared to Varroa!!
Beekeepers are the best tool in the box.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I have witnessed this year many common hornets taking bees from in front of the hive

See it every year here, they spend most of their days hawking around the apiaries.

 

[Karol]

The inspectors need to net one. Anaesthetize it and tie a feather to it and let it go and then track it back to the nest. I don't think there are any radio transmitters small enough.

 

[peteinwilts]

The inspectors need to net one. Anaesthetize it and tie a feather to it and let it go and then track it back to the nest. I don't think there are any radio transmitters small enough.

There are... there has been research performed on honey bees with microtransmitters.

 

[Erichalfbee]

As I can't link directly to the UK Beekeeping Facebook groups this was posted by Simon Cavill earlier:

Yes I saw that. Is that the official stance though?

 

[peteinwilts]

I fear our friendly face of our native hornet is going to be a regular caualty of war.
Speaking to the NBU yesterday lunchtime, there were still only two.
I have hives on three sides of Tetbury, and so far, inly seen our native hornet. I will be out with them later and tomorrow though...

The inspectors are looking for the hornets 'hive'. !?!

The first casualty of war is the truth. If the NBU wants to win peoples trust and register, they need to speak the truth and have regular updates.
The facebook report may well be true, but we can also expect mistruths and mistakes.

 

[mazzamazda]

The inspectors need to net one. Anaesthetize it and tie a feather to it and let it go and then track it back to the nest. I don't think there are any radio transmitters small enough.

They just need an Executioner Pro. I caught around 400 hornets yesterday and another 3 this morning before breakfast, treated and released. Does anyone know where you can buy those transmitters and drones with attached sprays as seen in France?

 

[user 3509]

I agree with Peteinwilts, the NBU really needs to keep us informed every step of the way otherwise the rumours will just escalate.

 

[Cussword]

I can see what could be a small problem. With one hand they are asking everyone to register on beebase for the hornet problem. That makes sense.

On the other hand the inspectors are being used to check for illegal treatments, purely for monetary reasons* That is causing some folk to go " off the reservation".

They can't have it both ways.


* My own, personal belief.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I can see what could be a small problem. With one hand they are asking everyone to register on beebase for the hornet problem. That makes sense.

On the other hand the inspectors are being used to check for illegal treatments, purely for monetary reasons* That is causing some folk to go " off the reservation".

They can't have it both ways.


* My own, personal belief.

Sadly many will not register due to inherent mistrust of officiadom.

 

[user 6228]

...As you may know, if the hornets gain access to a colony they will bring the rest of their nest mates and the colony will be destroyed very quickly. Our European bees have no natural defences.
...

While this may have some truth in conventional beehives with open short entrances, I think its premature to suggest they do not have defence in their natural abode. A narrow 150mm tunnel lined with hot honeybees is a very different environment, not only for the hornets but for the defending honeybees as it may be then a stimulus for other defensive behaviours. Apis mellifera has evolved its behaviours for defence around having a warm cavity with a narrow entrance. Their interaction with thick walls and hence a long tunnel like entrance that goes with a warm cavity has not been described.
Those of us who have made some better approximation of a "natural entrance" have a different appreciation of the effectiveness honeybee defence.

 

[Plenty of honey]

While this may have some truth in conventional beehives with open short entrances, I think its premature to suggest they do not have defence in their natural abode.
Those of us who have made some better approximation of a "natural entrance" have a different appreciation of the effectiveness honeybee defence.

There is also still wild or feral AMM here and all over france, i wondered how on earth they would do it, Varroa, Pesticides and now Asian Hornets, but their still knocking out swarms. i trapped 22 this year! They do have the ability to cope if their colony isn't weak or compromised.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Those of us who have made some better approximation of a "natural entrance" .

Just been out and glued a few hairs around mine this morning

 

[Erichalfbee]

The quote in the OP has come from the BBKA according to Mr Cavill yet there is nothing similar on its website or that of the NBU. I will spend some time making my own version of Millet's entrance block for the "normal" floors for next year

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'll wait until the NBU catch more than one!

 

[user 6228]

I'll wait until the NBU catch more than one!

cynic

 

[madasafish]

I can see what could be a small problem. With one hand they are asking everyone to register on beebase for the hornet problem. That makes sense.

On the other hand the inspectors are being used to check for illegal treatments, purely for monetary reasons* That is causing some folk to go " off the reservation".

They can't have it both ways.


* My own, personal belief.

Yes : they sampled my honey from one hive and sent it for analysis two weeks ago..

IF I have any issues , then I will tell the BIs what I think and de-register..(not that it matters - they know where I am - and lots of other unregistered people).

If I do have any issues, I will stir up the BBKA who really should NOT countenance this invasion without agreed safeguards for beekeepers.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Latest distribution map released with updated outbreak as you can see. Impressive isnt it!!


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=13592&stc=1&d=1474741440

 

[Millet]

The quote in the OP has come from the BBKA according to Mr Cavill yet there is nothing similar on its website or that of the NBU. I will spend some time making my own version of Millet's entrance block for the "normal" floors for next year

I should have patented that thing like another invention i done on a million candle power lamp that needed a flip down red filter.