Asian Hornet update

[For want of a better word]

I would advise whoever your acquaintance is to have a good look to ensure they are not VV as there are only 4 records of European hornets SW of Bodmin and they are from 1989 and 2009.
S

I will ask him to capture one for identification..... possibly very large wasps??? as they have been very active in Cornwall this year.. but half the size of a decent Euro Hornet!

The Defra traps that I have had out have caught a number of different sized wasps and a good few EH too... but no EH on Common Moor.

Chons da

 

[Stiffy]

I don't know what part of Cornwall you're in but in the south-east corner, we've been inundated with European Hornets (EH) this year. In the apiary near Liskeard where one Asian Hornet (AH) was found, the local AHAT helped the SBIs by watching the hive areas while they were out interviewing landowners and putting up traps. The EHs in that apiary were a real problem, taking bees and wasps on the wing just like we've seen AHs do the same.

We reckoned that there were at least 4, possibly more, nests contributing to the influx of EH, judging by the directions in which they were flying off. At one stage I calculated that the EHs were taking one bee every 3 minutes from 4 hives that I was watching. In another apiary, on the Rame Peninsular, we had one trap that had 30 European Hornets in it, collected over 2 days. The hornets were changing bee behaviour in both apiaries.

Since I've been beekeeping in Cornwall (5 years) I've seen no more than one or two EH a year so this year has been exceptional.

I'd be interested to hear from somebody with knowledge of AHs when it would be reasonable to stop monitoring the traps and to put them away until next spring.

Regarding the traps, the stuff they're using as an attractant in Jersey, Sutera, though costly, has been found to be a very effective attractant for wasps and hornets.

CVB

As I said records are from SW of Bodmin, I am much much further SW than that. The records are taken from National Biodiversity Network (NBN). Obviously the information is only as good as the records submitted to local networks but ‘usually ‘ pretty good.
S

 

[MerryBee]

Ok what’s sutera I googled it and got a place in Italy and a plant

its Suterra

Google "suterra hornet bait" and its all there

 

[Karol]

I will ask him to capture one for identification..... possibly very large wasps???

Dolichovespula media wasp queens could quite easily be mistaken for VV. Much closer in appearance than VC.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Ok what’s sutera I googled it and got a place in Italy and a plant

Sorry Ian, my bad spelling. Suterra was bought through some beekeepers from Totnes who bought 10 x 5 litre containers from a firm in Kent (something like Pest Supplies Direct) and distributed them around interested bee groups - they ended up at £42 each. My group distributed its 5 litres free to members to encourage them to put traps out - this after a Vv was found on our patch.

CVB

 

[Karol]

<snip>

Are we all doing our bit. Did Asian Hornet week make any ripples.
Are all associations banging the drum on hornets...............
Are we are all in this together ? Guess we will be soon.

Hopefully we won't need to be. Seems the Mazzamazda method is gaining traction in France. That being the case then the more French bee keepers use the method the more that Vv populations plunge the less risk of incursions into the UK.

As posted by Admin on other threads, the Mazzamazda method is only suited to situations where Vv is established which does not extend to the UK at present. Touch wood there won't be a need to use the method in the UK.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

The people (beekeepers, the public and Environment Department) in Jersey (Channel Islands) have destroyed 56 Asian Hornet nests so far this year but of course, we don't know how many have NOT been destroyed, with each one distributing 200+/- foundress queens.

It seems to have been a very labour intensive exercise - in one case, it appears to have take them nearly five days to find a nest, which they knew was nearby. Maybe next year, if a few nests have not been found, they might be in a situation in Jersey where something like the Mazzamazda Method, possible with a better insecticide, may have to be considered.

Jersey is interesting legally because they make their own laws in the States of Jersey Parliament so they are not obliged to follow DEFRA advice and regulations.

CVB

 

[mazzamazda]

As I found out this year you need a large amount of hornets to make the method work. It is a great problem when you only have a couple of hornets to chase around but it is so time consuming. I have been working with a local beekeeper this year and we have both had very few hornets after treating We are still seeing desperate situations as the hornets are working their way south.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

'Struth, that's a frightening image.

Has anybody in your area tried "the muzzle" to protect the hive entrance? French beekeepers say they've had some success using it.

CVB

 

[mazzamazda]

'Struth, that's a frightening image.

Has anybody in your area tried "the muzzle" to protect the hive entrance? French beekeepers say they've had some success using it.

CVB

I think some have used a similar mesh, personally unless the hive is being overrun I doubt it has much positive effect. I have seen hornets hawking 3 metres from the hive entrance quite regularly. The bees do a really good job of making a safety in numbers, you can see it in the video, a bee just flies in at full speed at the bunch and then it is escorted into the hive.

The most popular anti hornet device here is the arpa, it is very successful at knocking down forager numbers.

 

[Chiangmai member]

Last year in Thailand, I had some success with muzzled entrances that had an outer screen of wide (5cm) spaced vertical wires and an inner screen of narrower (2cm) wires close to the entrance. The idea being that the bees could fly in fast through the outer screen and hornets did not like to venture into the space between the screens to hawk them. The hornets did not seem to like entering the space between the narrow wires and the landing board at all. It was not 100% effective but observation suggested that predation pressure was reduced by this and most of the hornets moved to unmuzzled hives, suggesting at the very least that the contraption was making them uncomfortable. I think it is worth further trials to try and get the wire spacings and distances between the screens right.

 

[Tomlow bee]

"The most popular anti hornet device here is the arpa, it is very successful at knocking down forager numbers."

Ok what is the arpa? The net reveals many possibilities, none of which appears to be appropriate.

 

[Erichalfbee]

"The most popular anti hornet device here is the arpa, it is very successful at knocking down forager numbers."

Ok what is the arpa? The net reveals many possibilities, none of which appears to be appropriate.

I just watched one being made on YouTube
They seem to work don’t they
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t1jQzSw5DEA

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I just watched one being made on YouTube
They seem to work don’t they
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t1jQzSw5DEA

Yes and there are more toward the bottom of this page - all with Spanish commentary but largely self explanatory.

Not expensive and they seem to be effective with very little bi-catch.

CVB

 

[Karol]

Trapping is a suitable method for vespine control because it is a form of management without total eradication and therefore is ecologically sensitive to preserving native species. IMHO it does not offer a long term solution for VV.

The mazzamazda method on the other hand specifically targets the queen within the nest and prevents propagation by killing the queen before sexual gynes are produced (with the exception of diploid males). The collapse in VV populations from the mazzamazda method undermines the mating pool forcing more incestual mating which in turn results in more sterile diploid drones being produced.

Importantly, when VV populations collapse so that only incidental numbers visit the apiary, it is important to try to mop up those stragglers to prevent recolonisation.

 

[mazzamazda]

Yes that is the arpa, it works well for the foragers but as Karol says it isnt a long term solution, VV have a varied diet, there was a picture circulating of them eating a dead mouse, I have even seen them attacking small lizards in previous years.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Yes that is the arpa, it works well for the foragers but as Karol says it isnt a long term solution, VV have a varied diet, there was a picture circulating of them eating a dead mouse, I have even seen them attacking small lizards in previous years.

Is the Arpa shown in your photographs home-made or store-bought?

I don't understand why there is so little bi-catch (wasps, bees, butterflies, etc.). Have the Vv eaten all of them already? Any thoughts?

CVB

 

[MuswellMetro]

could you make an ARPA with a standard 3000v horse electric fence charger and galv electric fence wire? or is a fence charger different

 

[madasafish]

Is the Arpa shown in your photographs home-made or store-bought?

I don't understand why there is so little bi-catch (wasps, bees, butterflies, etc.). Have the Vv eaten all of them already? Any thoughts?

CVB

I assumed that VV were attracted to hives to eat bees - and caught. As far as other insects , no attractant so only random passing traffic.

 

[mazzamazda]

Is the Arpa shown in your photographs home-made or store-bought?

I don't understand why there is so little bi-catch (wasps, bees, butterflies, etc.). Have the Vv eaten all of them already? Any thoughts?

CVB

I honestly dont know, there are both, it is also big business here one of my customers is a fabricator, I understand it is all he is making now due to such high demand.

VV hunt down anything that moves, I have a mark on one of the hives, like a propolis dot, every single VV that flies past goes for it. This is the second year I have seen other insects in such abundance, wasps I have never seen before collecting dead bees and amazing butterflies. I guess in previous years they were all eaten.