Asian Hornet

[user 819]

I'm not trapping though do keep a watch on hive fronts and this time of year forage sources like fruit and ivy.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'm not trapping though do keep a watch on hive fronts

Which is what people have been asked to do.

 

[North End Bees]

how many, on finding velutina in their traps would kill them and then call the AH team?

Don't have much in the way of options really. It is illegal to catch and release AH (so if one ends up in your trap you have to leave it there).
Current protocol is to report with photo then put the whole trap in the freezer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The lads have come up with the goods again
Nest found!

 

[user 819]

Fast work.

 

[North End Bees]

Great news!
And just in time before this year's gynes mature.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The lads have come up with the goods again
Nest found!

Awaiting report on it. Great work.

 

[gmonag]

Impressive!

 

[GuyNir]

Well done to all involved

 

[E&MBees]

The lads have come up with the goods again
Nest found!

How do they track a hornet back to its nest? I’ve tried watching an individual bee from a hive on its flight and I soon loose it against the sky or vegetation.

 

[Erichalfbee]

How do they track a hornet back to its nest? I’ve tried watching an individual bee from a hive on its flight and I soon loose it against the sky or vegetation.

Have a look at the jersey Asian Hornet group on Facebook. There is an endless parade of nests destroyed but somewhere in there is their method. Fascinating. AH don’t forage far from their nests which helps.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

How do they track a hornet back to its nest?

Telemetry sometimes or they just look at the direction that the released hornet sets off on, then there's a set search pattern to follow.

 

[Natureboy44]

How do they track a hornet back to its nest? I’ve tried watching an individual bee from a hive on its flight and I soon loose it against the sky or vegetation.

I read they actually trap and tag individual hornets in Jersey then release them.

 

[steve1958]

That is excellent news.

 

[pargyle]

I certainly am.

Me as well ... it would be good to have a defined plan that all beekeepers could follow ... I don't know now just what is best. Indeed - not just beekeepers - it's entirely possible that Joe Public down here may have been putting traps out ?

 

[E&MBees]

Telemetry sometimes or they just look at the direction that the released hornet sets off on, then there's a set search pattern to follow.

Thanks

 

[North End Bees]

How do they track a hornet back to its nest? I’ve tried watching an individual bee from a hive on its flight and I soon loose it against the sky or vegetation.

Triangulation usually. You don't need the complete flight path, just the general direction.
Set out a bait station in location of original sighting and monitor.
Note the direction the hornet flies off from here and mark flight line on map.
Then add bait stations at compass points either side of this direction and record flight paths from each station.
Eventually your map will have a number of marked flight lines which will converge at the location of the nest.
AH generally forages within 700m of the nest so search areas can be defined accordingly.

 

[North End Bees]

Telemetry is useful but is now generally reserved for research tracking purposes as it can be expensive/haphazard.
Hornets chew off the transmitters when they return to the nest so new ones need applying.
Also transmitters fall off. Many reports of AH nest tracked to a low bush only to find it is a detached transmitter.
Triangulation is cheap and easy.

 

[E&MBees]

Telemetry is useful but is now generally reserved for research tracking purposes as it can be expensive/haphazard.
Hornets chew off the transmitters when they return to the nest so new ones need applying.
Also transmitters fall off. Many reports of AH nest tracked to a low bush only to find it is a detached transmitter.
Triangulation is cheap and easy.

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[nikca]

This being Asian Hornet Awareness Week, is very timely if anyone has a bit of time and would like to volunteer help with their local AH Teams.
There is a short quiz/exercise here for anybody who wants to check their knowledge about AH. Completion of the quiz and registration gives you extra insurance when out locating nests (separate from BDI ).
The quiz itself is extremely simple (it won't let you proceed until you pick the correct multi-choice answer) but it's still very useful.

Removed a few when I was living in France - one on my land 50m from my hives. Nests always way up in tall trees - which is not even an option on this quiz