Asian Hornet - Update

[Plenty of honey]

:

More likely to be south, south of Bristol.

Anywhere where the common hornet proliferates, expect the Asian will do the same, if not a little better.

The proof is in what just occurred in Tetbury. (soon the be renamed area 51)

They all said it wouldn't live in Northern France (Brittany and Normandy), now it also heading east, on the door of Germany and Belgium.

 

[Brian Bush]

I guess I don't share in the same logic as you do Brian. Setting spring traps all over the UK just to see if we have a problem doesn't make sense to me. My perception is that the sentinel function that beekeepers perform is sufficiently comprehensive geographically (and I'm only referring to those registered with bee base) to detect the presence of ANY velutina. I also don't think velutina will establish itself in the UK simply because we don't have the volume of insects that it needs to sustain itself. There's a reason why crabro only has nest sizes of 300 to 400 workers and there's a reason why it's a relatively sparse insect with little incidence above Birmingham. Provided beekeepers remain vigilant I don't see the need to take drastic measures such as spring trapping. I believe that all that is required is a reactive policy to mop up landfalls when they occur as they are detected.

Hi Karol you are beginning to persuade me with your logic. My main concern is that this is 'nipped in the bud' and I have a great many apprehensions about govt. departments even though I constantly ask people to co-operate with BeeBase

 

[bontbee]

...... Just as you can refuse entry to the Bee Inspectorate to your hives unless they have reason to suspect you have not reported a notifiable disease.....

As a point of info: I am as certain as I can be, (not being an sbi) that this is incorrect, Brian, that bee inspectors do have rights of entry to inspect your bees for other reasons; the obvious example being that your bees fall within the area of a foulbrood outbreak.

They can also enlist police assistance, if necessary, eg. if there are concerns about breach of the peace, etc.!!! Having said that though, I would anticpate that SBIs operate by negotiation rather than threat (ours certainly does), but I also suspect that most of us know a beekeeper who doesn't give a sh*t about anyone else's bees. It's reassuring to know that someone has the wherewithal to check neighbouring colonies when the worst happens. I'm speaking as someone who has two apiaries within the areas of 1 AFB and 2 EFB outbreaks!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

As a point of info: I am as certain as I can be, (not being an sbi) that this is incorrect, Brian, that bee inspectors do have rights of entry to inspect your bees for other reasons; the obvious example being that your bees fall within the area of a foulbrood outbreak.

Yes they can insist on entry within a contiguous area for foulbrood but they can't just stroll into your apiary as if by right just to have a poke around.
IIRC because their powers are (just ever so slightly) less than ours they need police presence to exercise their right of access. Or it might just be the 'hours of darkness' stipulation.

 

[bontbee]

Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound as if I was trying to suggest that SBIs can just stroll into an apiary to have a poke around....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

unlike us - who can!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

unlike us - who can!!

Looking for illegal immigrants?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Looking for illegal immigrants?

or securing the revenue/ looking for controlled drugs (my warrant card says I'm still a 'designated' customs officer although I'm no longer in that deparment!)

 

[Chiangmai member]

I guess I don't share in the same logic as you do Brian. Setting spring traps all over the UK just to see if we have a problem doesn't make sense to me. My perception is that the sentinel function that beekeepers perform is sufficiently comprehensive geographically (and I'm only referring to those registered with bee base) to detect the presence of ANY velutina. I also don't think velutina will establish itself in the UK simply because we don't have the volume of insects that it needs to sustain itself. There's a reason why crabro only has nest sizes of 300 to 400 workers and there's a reason why it's a relatively sparse insect with little incidence above Birmingham. Provided beekeepers remain vigilant I don't see the need to take drastic measures such as spring trapping. I believe that all that is required is a reactive policy to mop up landfalls when they occur as they are detected.

Karol's comment that Velutina will not have sufficient food to sustain itself may not be quite right. In Northern Thailand, V. velutina is an annual problem that every beek faces - a friend with 100 hives, was killing more than 1,000 a day, a few years ago! A local entomologist told me that 30 years ago, velutina was rare in the area. So what has changed? Well one answer is that there are many, many more beehives now. Velutina is a specialist bee hawking hornet. It seems plausible that the popularity of beekeeping is supporting an unnaturally high population of velutina. If thats the case then velutina might eventually become established in any area where people raise bees.

 

[Karol]

I understand the point that you are making Chiangmai but the ecology and climate in Northern Thialand is very different to that in the UK. I believe we simply don't have the insect densities to sustain velutina especially under the frequently cold temperate climate that we have. I accept that velutina is a specialist bee predator but your argument assumes that beekeepers in the UK would not respond to the invasion which I know they would. So for as long as velutina maintains a presence in France we can expect sporadic landfalls in the UK but I'm confident they will be dealt with.

 

[B+.]

So for as long as velutina maintains a presence in France we can expect sporadic landfalls in the UK but I'm confident they will be dealt with.

I'm not so sure Karol. I don't think there is any difference between beekeepers in France and in the UK. The point is a very good one and, if apiary density is anywhere near as dense as beebase suggests, there is a more than adequate food source available.
I am sure the NBU will try to contain these outbreaks but, eventually, they will escape detection

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

More likely to be south, south of Bristol.

Zummerzet to be more precise - apparently one caught in a trap there yesterday

 

[tonyofarr]

Zummerzet to be more precise - apparently one caught in a trap there yesterday

Oh Cr*p ! Getting closer to us. We have not seen a single native hornet this year (we like them) and definitely don't want to see one of those bu**ers.

 

[enrico]

Zummerzet to be more precise - apparently one caught in a trap there yesterday

To be more precise do you know where in Somerset...that is my new stomping ground! Don,t panic!
E

 

[Hivemaker.]

Zummerzet to be more precise - apparently one caught in a trap there yesterday

I heard a vague story that one had been spotted there four days ago.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

not vague any more.

 

[B+.]

not vague any more.

Whats your source for that JBM?

 

[Karol]

Is that confirmed JBM? And any idea where in Somerset? Also was it a worker or queen?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Can't tell you any more than that

Habit of a law enforcement officer - always protect your source, especially a good one

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Now on beebase:

October 2016 - A confirmed finding of Asian hornet north of the Mendip Hills in Somerset
As with the first sighting, work to find, destroy and remove any nests is already underway, and includes:

• setting up a three mile surveillance zone around the location of the initial sighting
• opening a local control centre to coordinate the response
• deploying bee inspectors across the area who will use infrared cameras and traps to locate any nests
• readying nest disposal experts who will use pesticides to kill the hornets and destroy any nests

Bee inspectors in Somerset will be supported by nest disposal experts who will use an approved pesticide to destroy any hornets and remove any nests.

The first Asian hornet confirmed in the UK was discovered in the Tetbury area. A nest in the area has since been found, treated with pesticide and destroyed. No further live Asian hornets have been sighted in the area since the nest was removed.