Asian Hornet - Update

[masterBK]

Karol please can you explain how wasps are able to communicate the whereabouts of a food source and recruit others in the nest to go to it. I am familiar with bee dances and the like but I have not come across any scientifically proven information about how wasps do it. Do they simply follow the "scout" back to the food source? In fact I never knew there where such things as wasp scouts. I thought that once the queen wasp had stopped laying it was more or less every wasp for itself regarding sweet food sources ie the social order breaks down to some extent.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Does anyone know how far from the port of Bristol (or any riverside wharves) the presently identified findings are?

Add to this another factor - the Mendip hornet apparently was caught in the spring but was only reported when the Tetbury event was made public.........

 

[Millet]

Karol please can you explain how wasps are able to communicate the whereabouts of a food source and recruit others in the nest to go to it. I am familiar with bee dances and the like but I have not come across any scientifically proven information about how wasps do it. Do they simply follow the "scout" back to the food source? In fact I never knew there where such things as wasp scouts. I thought that once the queen wasp had stopped laying it was more or less every wasp for itself regarding sweet food sources ie the social order breaks down to some extent.

Good Question .

 

[masterBK]

I have just found this paper on Google
http://driftlessprairies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Social-wasp-foraging-behavior.pdf

It suggests that recruitment is poorly developed in social wasps and that they remain the only group of eusocial insects in which communication of dis-
tance and direction to food have not been reported

 

[alldigging]

Good Question .

why the need for high efficiency traps for wasps?

 

[maddydog]

Add to this another factor - the Mendip hornet apparently was caught in the spring but was only reported when the Tetbury event was made public.........

Interested in hearing their(whoever 'they' might be) reason(s) for keeping it quiet. Must be checking for oxalic residues again

 

[Millet]

why the need for high efficiency traps for wasps?

Why the Question. ? .

 

[BeeJayBee]

Why not just observe the hive once or twice a day - no need for catching them then.

Not many beekeepers visit their hives more than once a week, unless there's a pressing need to do so. Expecting twice daily apiary visits is unrealistic for most beekeepers.

 

[Karol]

Karol please can you explain how wasps are able to communicate the whereabouts of a food source and recruit others in the nest to go to it. I am familiar with bee dances and the like but I have not come across any scientifically proven information about how wasps do it. Do they simply follow the "scout" back to the food source? In fact I never knew there where such things as wasp scouts. I thought that once the queen wasp had stopped laying it was more or less every wasp for itself regarding sweet food sources ie the social order breaks down to some extent.

Wasps are sophisticated eusocial insects but poorly understood. Wasps use an array of communication methods including wing vibration and limb semaphore plus olfactory cues and trophallaxis and yes the scout is followed back to the food source until the wasps learn the location for themselves. Recruitment by wasps is something that is also poorly understood. I've also read the papers that state that wasps are poor recruiters but then the design of the studies I've seen has been naïve about wasp behaviour and didn't take into account the impact of competing food sources on the distraction of resident populations, i.e. recruitment will be poor if fellow wasps from the nest are already away feeding somewhere else when there is an alternative abundance of food. The stronger the food source the stronger the scouting behaviour. Wasps have exceptional navigational skills and will return to within millimetres of the original food source.

The social order in a wasp nest does not break down once the queen stops laying eggs. It just changes. The reason being that whilst there is brood in the nest the adults get the vast majority of their carbs from the sugars regurgitated by the larvae which comes from digesting insect skeletons which are themselves formed from complex sugar. Once there's no brood, there is no source of carbs, so the wasps go looking for direct sources of sugar and are therefore away from the nest for much longer periods giving the appearance that the nest is all but abandoned, only returning in numbers at dusk to roost. Interestingly, the queen may decide to lay a second round of sexual progeny (seen this happen three times in the last decade and a half) and the activity of the nest coalesces around the brood again and as if by magic the nest appears to be re-populated again.

As for scientific papers then there is considerable paucity when it comes to wasps and not all of the research is of high quality. That's why I've invested heavily in researching wasps and integrated wasp management (I am blessed to have the facilities to do so at my disposal) but never published the work and don't intend to. I'm afraid I've become terribly disillusioned with academic patronage and the corruption of our academic institutions and I have more important things to do with my time than plump up academic egos (or my own ego for that matter). I'm happy to share my knowledge to help people and it's up to them if they wish to take advantage of that help.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Not many beekeepers visit their hives more than once a week, unless there's a pressing need to do so.

I visit some every day, often several times a day, I'm sure I would spot any Asian Hornets if they were around.

Many hobby beekeepers have their hives in their gardens, they see their bees every day, some of them all day.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I'm afraid I've become terribly disillusioned with academic patronage and the corruption of our academic institutions

Your not on your own with that thought.

 

[Karol]

Not many beekeepers visit their hives more than once a week, unless there's a pressing need to do so. Expecting twice daily apiary visits is unrealistic for most beekeepers.

I wasn't suggesting that beekeepers visit their apiaries that frequently. My comment was in response to CVB stating that sentinel traps be emptied twice a day (#343). If a beekeeper only visits their apiary once a week or less then the value (and use) of sentinel traps is further undermined.

 

[Karol]

Add to this another factor - the Mendip hornet apparently was caught in the spring but was only reported when the Tetbury event was made public.........

Any more inside news JBM on whether there have been more sightings in the Mendip area?

 

[Karol]

What is the human health risks of the NBU trap ?

The potential for exposure to hornets and wasps.

I've seen on a number of occasions now the statement that Asian hornet stings are no worse than honeybee stings. I don't believe that for one minute.

Wasp venom and by extension hornet venom, contains a potent cocktail of dose dependent and dose independent toxins. The dose dependent toxins cause dose related effects. The hornet injects a larger dose of venom than a honeybee so there is more potential for dose related harm. If you look closely at googled images of Asian hornet stings you will see craters at the sting sites.

The craters are formed because hornet venom contains amongst other things what is in effect cobra venom (phospholipase) which basically dissolves meat into soup. If a person receives multiple stings from Asian hornets then the likelihood of a severe reaction rapidly escalates. I was talking to a beekeeper on the continent who knows one lady who was stung 11 times and ended up fighting for her life in hospital.

The dose independent toxins found in hornet venom are for example the allergenic compounds that cause allergic reactions on purpose and mast cell de-granulating peptides which cause activation of mast cells in the body both allergically mediated and non-allergically mediated. Mast cell activation can lead to Kounis syndrome and by extension this can lead to wasp/hornet sting induced heart attacks several days if not weeks after the sting (mast cell activation with or without allergic reaction leads to vasospasm and release of chemicals which dissolve fatty plaques in patients with hardening of the arteries which then rupture (up to several days later) and the rupture leads to blood clot formation (again up to several days later) which can lead to a heart attack. From memory (and please don't ask me to find the paper because it's archived somewhere and it'd take ages to find it again) Crabro venom is known to sensitize patients to further wasp and hornet stings 89% more so than wasp stings. Not aware of any research on this regarding Asian hornets (and haven't as yet looked) but it wouldn't surprise me if the rate of sensitization from Asian hornet stings turns out to be greater than that of wasps or honeybees. So if you are stung by a hornet chances are you will be more susceptible to an allergic reaction the next time around than if you were initially stung by a wasp.

The problem with the NBU design of trap is that it is intended to be opened with live hornets and wasps inside which vastly increases the risk of being stung - especially if the non beekeeping fraternity decide to copy and use the trap without the luxury of the PPE that beekeepers have.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

The potential for exposure to hornets and wasps.

I've seen on a number of occasions now the statement that Asian hornet stings are no worse than honeybee stings. I don't believe that for one minute.

Wasp venom and by extension hornet venom, contains a potent cocktail of dose dependent and dose independent toxins. The dose dependent toxins cause dose related effects. The hornet injects a larger dose of venom than a honeybee so there is more potential for dose related harm. If you look closely at googled images of Asian hornet stings you will see craters at the sting sites.

The craters are formed because hornet venom contains amongst other things what is in effect cobra venom (phospholipase) which basically dissolves meat into soup. If a person receives multiple stings from Asian hornets then the likelihood of a severe reaction rapidly escalates. I was talking to a beekeeper on the continent who knows one lady who was stung 11 times and ended up fighting for her life in hospital.

The dose independent toxins found in hornet venom are for example the allergenic compounds that cause allergic reactions on purpose and mast cell de-granulating peptides which cause activation of mast cells in the body both allergically mediated and non-allergically mediated. Mast cell activation can lead to Kounis syndrome and by extension this can lead to wasp/hornet sting induced heart attacks several days if not weeks after the sting (mast cell activation with or without allergic reaction leads to vasospasm and release of chemicals which dissolve fatty plaques in patients with hardening of the arteries which then rupture (up to several days later) and the rupture leads to blood clot formation (again up to several days later) which can lead to a heart attack. From memory (and please don't ask me to find the paper because it's archived somewhere and it'd take ages to find it again) Crabro venom is known to sensitize patients to further wasp and hornet stings 89% more so than wasp stings. Not aware of any research on this regarding Asian hornets (and haven't as yet looked) but it wouldn't surprise me if the rate of sensitization from Asian hornet stings turns out to be greater than that of wasps or honeybees. So if you are stung by a hornet chances are you will be more susceptible to an allergic reaction the next time around than if you were initially stung by a wasp.

The problem with the NBU design of trap is that it is intended to be opened with live hornets and wasps inside which vastly increases the risk of being stung - especially if the non beekeeping fraternity decide to copy and use the trap without the luxury of the PPE that beekeepers have.

What an interesting post. Thanks Karol

 

[Haughton Honey]

Here's one I destroyed in France in 2014 with a can of Raid and a hanky (no suit - stupidly).

It had set up shop between the window and the shutter at 'our ouse' in central France whilst we were away.

You can imagine my surprise when I unlocked the door and threw back the shutters......

 

[Plenty of honey]

Here's one I destroyed in France in 2014 with a can of Raid and a hanky (no suit - stupidly).

It had set up shop between the window and the shutter at 'our ouse' in central France whilst we were away.

You can imagine my surprise when I unlocked the door and threw back the shutters......

And what did the hanky do? to dab your Venom soaked wounds??
Well done, i bet they weren't too gracious when you accidentally ripped their nest in half!! Looks like Common hornet??

 

[Pete D]

Maybe time for a new Asian Hornet update thread as this one has been hijacked for arguing.

Anyone got some real facts on the current situation in Tetbury or the Mendips ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

The potential for exposure to hornets and wasps.

I've seen on a number of occasions now the statement that Asian hornet stings are no worse than honeybee stings. I don't believe that for one minute.

.

You're right there Karol
A hornet sting hurts a bloody lot more!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Any more inside news JBM on whether there have been more sightings in the Mendip area?

Nothing more - no new sightings and a horde of SBI's on standby to go down there if the NBU think it worthwhile

Maybe time for a new Asian Hornet update thread as this one has been hijacked for arguing.