Asian Hornet - Update

[mazzamazda]

If it's about Fipronil I can tell you they ...or at least one SBI I talked to ....are not interested and refused to discuss it further
Horses and water........

BUT....so pleased you're getting somewhere

Madness!

 

[mazzamazda]

Do Hornets also hunt wasps? (Karol?)

These very poor photos were snipped from a cameraphone video taken from one of my hives (my first built hive!). The sun was to bright to see screen, and was one of those pull the phone out of my pocket and shoot type videos (that's my excuse anyway!).

This non-Asian hornet was hanging around the hive for a while trying to pull out defending bees

In the end, the Hornet took a wasp in the air, and after a very brief struggle flew off with it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

If hornets hunt wasps, the focus of the Asian variety could be hunting around the countless wasp nests in the area?!?

Also, do Vespas suffer with CBPV?

Yes they hunt wasps, I think their favourite is bees unfortunately

 

[Karol]

Vespa crabro absolutely specialises in hunting wasps so much so that their life cycle lags behind that of wasps and more importantly, the highest concentrations of crabro are seen typically around scrumpy country.

 

[Hivemaker.]

crabro are seen typically around scrumpy country.

No shortage of them here, must be very convenient for a hornet nest occupying a hole in a large oak tree in one of my apiaries, as there is also a wasp nest in the same tree.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I can TRUMP that !!! CVB

eBay item number:
262408102803

Nos da

Those electric fly swats could be used in conjunction with the Fipronil - stun them with the electric tennis racket, spray them with Fipronil when they're stunned then release them to go and poison their nest.

The NBU will probably decide in 5 year's time that this is the method of choice for effective control, then a year later they'll decide it's a treatment and you'll have to buy an expensive specified Fipronil product if used in an apiary. Sound familiar?

CVB

 

[Karol]

I wouldn't spray them. Put them in a container with laced food either laced protein or syrup depending on the season (or both for a double whammy). That way they'll take back more of the toxin and feed it to the brood or pass it around through trophallaxis. Please don't do this on native wasp species. I like the selectivity of this method if it's done by catch, poison and release. My worry is that beeks will get lazy and just leave out poisoned bait which would be ecologically irresponsible.

 

[Karol]

No shortage of them here, must be very convenient for a hornet nest occupying a hole in a large oak tree in one of my apiaries, as there is also a wasp nest in the same tree.

Population densities drop off markedly once you go north of Birmingham. Fair bit in Worcestershire and for some reason the Isle of Anglesey.

 

[mazzamazda]

I wouldn't spray them. Put them in a container with laced food either laced protein or syrup depending on the season (or both for a double whammy). That way they'll take back more of the toxin and feed it to the brood or pass it around through trophallaxis. Please don't do this on native wasp species. I like the selectivity of this method if it's done by catch, poison and release. My worry is that beeks will get lazy and just leave out poisoned bait which would be ecologically irresponsible.

I have experimented with catching them, problem is if they are from more than one nest they fight to the death, if you catch one they just go crazy for a few minutes then die either way they only last a few minutes in captivity.

I catch them with the electric fly catcher, pick them up by the wing and walk some 100m away, by that point they are going crazy, a dab of the poison and throw them up in the air, you can tell which nest they are from as they always limp back in that direction. I have a video but I'm not sure how to put it on.

 

[mazzamazda]

Those electric fly swats could be used in conjunction with the Fipronil - stun them with the electric tennis racket, spray them with Fipronil when they're stunned then release them to go and poison their nest.

The NBU will probably decide in 5 year's time that this is the method of choice for effective control, then a year later they'll decide it's a treatment and you'll have to buy an expensive specified Fipronil product if used in an apiary. Sound familiar?

CVB

Yep that is basically what I do but you have to spray them when they are wriggling or they just die.

Agreed, by that time they will be dealing with thousands of out of control nests, not just one.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Well what a day, I honestly cant believe it, I'm actually controlling my hornets. All thanks to the tip from Richard Noel, a small modification to treating and in one apiary I have gone in one treatment from 10-12 hornets per hive (40 ish hives) to around 10-12 hornets per apiary, a few more treatments and I will be hornet free.

Another apiary, with 2-3 hornets per hive, maximum of 3-4 hornets per apiary.

After losing the end two very strong hives to hornets to say I'm happy is a massive understatement.

I'd be very confident I could get rid of the small problem in Tetbury!

I have called and emailed the NBU but not had a reply!

Sorry what are you actually doing? Can't piece it together from the thread.

 

[mazzamazda]

Sorry what are you actually doing? Can't piece it together from the thread.

Catch, poison with slow acting poison and release. Poisened hornets go back to nest and kill the nest. Work intensive but certainly works.

 

[Karol]

How about daubing them with a sugar solution laced with fipronil instead of just spraying? That way when they return more of the nest will be exposed especially gynes that are being fattened up.

 

[mazzamazda]

How about daubing them with a sugar solution laced with fipronil instead of just spraying? That way when they return more of the nest will be exposed especially gynes that are being fattened up.

The method is working with minimum risk to the hives, but thanks. If you use more than a tiny dab it kills them outright.

 

[Karol]

I understand but you can do some rudimentary dosing studies to work out the best concentration of fipronil for the syrup and how much you can daub onto the hornet. Perhaps better still, might be that you can use icing sugar to make a slow release paste (a toxic fondant) that you daub onto the back of the hornet. That will slow down the absorption of the dose and also once the hornet gets back to the nest its colleagues will clean it hopefully distributing more of the fipronil throughout the nest.

 

[B+.]

work out the best concentration of fipronil for the syrup and how much you can daub onto the hornet. Perhaps better still, might be that you can use icing sugar to make a slow release paste (a toxic fondant) that you daub onto the back of the hornet.

Do any birds / other wildlife predate on hornets?
If so, won't this get you in trouble with the Wildlife Act?

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Catch, poison with slow acting poison and release. Poisened hornets go back to nest and kill the nest. Work intensive but certainly works.

Thanks. Impressive results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hivemaker.]

Do any birds / other wildlife predate on hornets?
If so, won't this get you in trouble with the Wildlife Act?

Harmful to most things, but then that would be expected from a poison, and long acting.

Fipronil is one of the main chemical causes blamed for the spread of colony collapse disorder among bees. It has been found by the Minutes-Association for Technical Coordination Fund in France that even at very low nonlethal doses for bees, the pesticide still impairs their ability to locate their hive, resulting in large numbers of forager bees lost with every pollen-finding expedition.[25] A 2013 report by the European Food Safety Authority identified fipronil as "a high acute risk to honeybees when used as a seed treatment for maize and on July 16, 2013 the EU voted to ban the use of fipronil on corn and sunflowers within the EU.

The ban took effect at the end of 2013.In May 2003, the French Directorate-General of Food at the Ministry of Agriculture determined that a case of mass bee mortality observed in southern France was related to acute fipronil toxicity. Toxicity was linked to defective seed treatment, which generated dust. In February 2003, the Ministry decided to temporarily suspend the sale of BASF crop protection products containing fipronil in France.

In the UK, provisional approval for five years has been granted for fipronil use as a public hygiene insecticide.
Fipronil is the main active ingredient of Frontline TopSpot, Fiproguard, Flevox and PetArmor (used along with S-methoprene in the 'Plus' versions of these products); these treatments are used in fighting tick and flea infestations in dogs and cats.
In New Zealand fipronil was used in trials to control wasps (vespula spp.), which are a threat to indigenous biodiversity. It is now being used by the Department of Conservation to attempt local eradication of wasps[18] and is available to the public in an award winning protein-based bait designed to avoid attracting honey bees.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil

 

[B+.]

Harmful to most things, but then that would be expected from a poison, and long acting.

Thanks for that.

Just a thought: we're against neonicitinoids, but, we're ok with Fipronil?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

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

And apparently they now have - I hear a nest has been found high up in a BFO tree

 

[Hivemaker.]

Thanks for that.

Just a thought: we're against neonicitinoids, but, we're ok with Fipronil?

I envisage some disasters for bees when some idiots decide to mix this stuff with honey and leave it out as poison bait for hornets.