Asian Hornet - Update

[Stiffy]

Well I'm fairly as much south as you can get on the UK mainland, bar Cornwall, however, never seen any European hornets in our area, even before keeping bees, and I've been here around 20 years. Maybe it's because I'm too near the coast, approx 500 metres.. Who knows!

Never seen a hornet in my part of Cornwall, probably don't like pasties !
S


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[kazmcc]

I don't know what the fuss is about. We have lots of new species reach and distribute throughout Britain in recent years, and we have plenty of native species that enjoy a hb or two, we even have species who's sole diet is bees and nobody gets their knickers in a twist over that.

Oopps! Have I said too much?

Btw did anyone see the news today? I think it was The Sun. Apparently Britain only has 25 species of honeybee left and numbers are expected to go down to 50,000 by next summer.......or some such nonsense. I'll try and find the link. Who writes this carp?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Has there been any information released regarding the maturity of the 'Tetbury' nest? Wondered how easy it would be to tell if any queens had been released from it, prior to it being destroyed?

Been taken to the National Bee Unit in York for full analysis I think.

Never seen a hornet in my part of Cornwall, probably don't like pasties !

Or Cornwall?

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Never seen a hornet in my part of Cornwall, probably don't like pasties !
S


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I've seen plenty of European Hornets this year in south east Cornwall - far more than in previous years.

Am collecting some drinks bottles to make Hornet Traps as per NBU advice.

CVB

 

[Hivemaker.]

Am collecting some drinks bottles to make Hornet Traps as per NBU advice.

Are those traps high efficiency or low efficiency, would of thought that low efficiency traps would be best for catching Asian Hornets.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Are those traps high efficiency or low efficiency, would of thought that low efficiency traps would be best for catching Asian Hornets.

NBU does not say which they are but slightly more sophisticated that Plenty of Honey's. There is an escape route for stuff smaller than a hornet but it will almost certainly trap European Hornets. The sophisticated bit is that the hornets don't drown in the attractant so in theory you have a specimen to show the NBU when you catch your Asian Hornet. The European Hornets can be released unless they are unfortunate enough to be in the trap with an Asian Hornet!

CVB

 

[Karol]

I've seen plenty of European Hornets this year in south east Cornwall - far more than in previous years.

Am collecting some drinks bottles to make Hornet Traps as per NBU advice.

CVB

Why?

You have some evidence that there are Asian hornets in Cornwall?

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Why?

You have some evidence that there are Asian hornets in Cornwall?

No, but there was no evidence there were any Asian Hornets in Tetbury until Asian Hornets were found in Tetbury - by a beekeeper. Do you know that there are no Asian Hornets in Cornwall?

Why am I preparing a trap? Because that is what the NBU is recommending. Presumably if every beekeeper set out sentinel traps then we'd all get earlier warning of the next Asian Hornet sighting before it becomes a disaster for bees in the UK.

CVB

 

[Karol]

No, but there was no evidence there were any Asian Hornets in Tetbury until Asian Hornets were found in Tetbury - by a beekeeper. Do you know that there are no Asian Hornets in Cornwall?

You can't prove a negative so setting traps in the absence of any other markers in my opinion is ecologically irresponsible.

Why am I preparing a trap? Because that is what the NBU is recommending. Presumably if every beekeeper set out sentinel traps then we'd all get earlier warning of the next Asian Hornet sighting before it becomes a disaster for bees in the UK.

CVB

With all due respect it's a rubbish ill thought through recommendation.

The behaviour of Asian hornets is to preferentially seek out bee hives and that is where they will be detected first especially in the early stages when in small numbers. Setting up traps of inconsistent reliability in areas where there isn't even a suspicion of Asian hornets being present serves no purpose and is likely to lead to a false sense of security especially if beekeepers end up spending time visiting the traps instead of monitoring their hives.

Please be vigilant at your hives and don't waste valuable time on something which won't detect a problem that doesn't exist that will in any event show itself at the hive before it shows itself elsewhere. Remember that lots of people not just beekeepers use wasp traps throughout the wasp season all over the country and we still had landfall in Tetbury. As this paper states, trapping isn't effective at controlling the distribution of velutina: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26953252

 

[Karol]

Just wanted to add a post script:

Beekeepers who already use wasp traps to protect their hives from wasps during the wasp season can inspect those traps for Asian hornets. Whilst the NBU state that traps using lager with or without sugar won't work, Asian hornets should still be attracted to traps that use a combination of lager and honey. I am looking to get verification of this shortly.

I have asked my pest control colleagues to inspect their traps during servicing to specifically look for signs of velutina and to report any suspected catches to [email protected]. I will also be placing an add through the pest control media to get this message across to the widest possible network of pest controllers. That will at least widen the net in terms of surveillance.

 

[Hivemaker.]

The behaviour of Asian hornets is to preferentially seek out bee hives and that is where they will be detected first especially in the early stages when in small numbers.

And European Hornets can also easily be identified around beehives as can wasps, no need of traps for detection of Asian Hornets or anything else, just use your eyesight.

 

[mazzamazda]

And European Hornets can also easily be identified around beehives as can wasps, no need of traps for detection of Asian Hornets or anything else, just use your eyesight.

Agreed, Asian hornets can be easily spotted from 100m away, they hover like helicopters at the entrance, also look at the entrance for bees clustering, a tell tale sign for VV. European Hornets tend to dart around lots more.

 

[Curley]

Now Wiltshire?

Spoke to the Wiltshire SBI last night - he had received a report/photo of a nest in Wiltshire - wouldn't say where - and was rushing off this morning to investigate.

Oh b****r.

 

[Chiangmai member]

I thought they had a defence mechanism where they lure hornets into the hive and kill them?

This seems to be true for some Asian hornets, including Vespa tropica and V. affiniss but not so for V. velutina, which predates on returning foragers and will only enter a hive when the colony is weakened and unable to defend itself.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

You can't prove a negative so setting traps in the absence of any other markers in my opinion is ecologically irresponsible.

With all due respect it's a rubbish ill thought through recommendation.

....... As this paper states, trapping isn't effective at controlling the distribution of velutina: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26953252

It is not ecologically irresponsible if the trap allows smaller non-target species to escape and for European Hornets etc. to be released. Unlike many homemade and commercial traps, the design shown on the NBU site does not kill the insects but traps them above the attractant. The beekeeper would inspect the trap and if no VVs were in it then everything else is released. It is a sentinel trap and not intended to control the distribution of velutina.

If it were hung in the apiary, it is there 24/7 whereas the beekeeper might only visit once a day for a short time and miss the presence of a VV.

If you have issues with NBU advice, take it up with them. Undermining the advice because you don't understand the concept of a sentinel non-killing trap IS irresponsible.

CVB

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just wanted to add a post script:

Beekeepers who already use wasp traps to protect their hives from wasps during the wasp season can inspect those traps for Asian hornets.

That's what I will do and nothing else for the moment

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have asked my pest control colleagues to inspect their traps during servicing to specifically look for signs of velutina and to report any suspected catches to [email protected]. I will also be placing an add through the pest control media to get this message across to the widest possible network of pest controllers. That will at least widen the net in terms of surveillance.

Spot on proactive thinking Karol and probably the best way to get an early indicator.

 

[Karol]

<snip>

If you have issues with NBU advice, take it up with them. Undermining the advice because you don't understand the concept of a sentinel non-killing trap IS irresponsible.

CVB

I will be taking it up with the NBU.

Where's the evidence that the trap is non-killing? If your argument is that beekeepers don't visit their apiaries regularly and that the sentinel trap is a convenient proxy then who's going to be there to release the non-target species before they desiccate and die of heat exhaustion? And that's assuming that the trap is constructed correctly by all and sundry in the first place so that it does allow non-target species except crabro to escape.

Well, let's develop this concept further shall we. These sentinel traps are installed next to hives and attract wasps and hornets (but no velutina because there aren't any in the area). The traps preferentially kill crabro hornets but allow wasps to escape. By killing crabro you remove one of the most important insect predators of wasps so you end up with inflated wasp numbers which you've attracted to the vicinity of your hive.

Very clever. You've now increased the risk of your hive being overwhelmed by wasps massively more than any risk from velutina that doesn't exist in the first place - why, because your sentinel trap has just said to every wasp in the area - come get my hives girls - the honey bar's on me!!!!

I'll undermine rubbish advice wherever I see it - for the common good because that's what motivates me.

And I haven't even started on the human health risks of recommending the use of dangerous traps which the NBU design is. There is a public liability risk that the NBU haven't given a second's thought to.

 

[justsmith]

might be classed as closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, but anyone know if they was any work done in northen france by nbu to try to control the numbers and the odds of one coming over.

 

[mpenn]

What is the human health risks of the NBU trap ?