Asian Hornets Nest(s)

[Plenty of honey]

So, received a phone call on monday from a client who said he had honey bees on his oil tank. Could i come and have a look, he said they had a black body, (ok) with a yellow line across the middle of the abdomen(MMMMMMMMM Right)
So went around this is what i found. Although we have some Asian hornets for the last two years, they seem to have really got going well here.
Just wanted to post these pics so you guys can see what you might get in a few years time, may be next year, i hope not!!!
Oh by the way were in Dinan, Near St Malo, so not far form the English coast. This nest was in a property, about 15 kilometres from me, and only 8 kilometres from one of my apiaries.

Normal bee suits just not up to these little rascals, i batted one away from hovering in front of my face, wearing my bee suit just to have a look and get these pics, then it squirted venom at me, Charming. I called my contact and they were destroyed that afternoon. The property owner just didn't know what they were and i was called through another person who they know!! It seems to me that most people just dont know anything about these, or common hornets.
There was Two nests at the property, this one next to the house, and the other in the shed, approximately half the size. Its possible that the queen from the first nest could have produced another queen and moved or she moved to the second nest, sometimes this happens with their biology, being
such a dynamic insect!!
The nest site was classic, shelter, surrounded by lots of woodland and wild meadows, and above all, low lying areas and water ways.

http://www.beekeepinghttp://www.bee...ent.php?attachmentid=12432&stc=1&d=1444813521

 

[beeno]

So, received a phone call on monday from a client who said he had honey bees on his oil tank. Could i come and have a look, he said they had a black body, (ok) with a yellow line across the middle of the abdomen(MMMMMMMMM Right)
So went around this is what i found. Although we have some Asian hornets for the last two years, they seem to have really got going well here.
Just wanted to post these pics so you guys can see what you might get in a few years time, may be next year, i hope not!!!
Oh by the way were in Dinan, Near St Malo, so not far form the English coast. This nest was in a property, about 15 kilometres from me, and only 8 kilometres from one of my apiaries.

Normal bee suits just not up to these little rascals, i batted one away from hovering in front of my face, wearing my bee suit just to have a look and get these pics, then it squirted venom at me, Charming. I called my contact and they were destroyed that afternoon. The property owner just didn't know what they were and i was called through another person who they know!! It seems to me that most people just dont know anything about these, or common hornets.
There was Two nests at the property, this one next to the house, and the other in the shed, approximately half the size. Its possible that the queen from the first nest could have produced another queen and moved or she moved to the second nest, sometimes this happens with their biology, being
such a dynamic insect!!
The nest site was classic, shelter, surrounded by lots of woodland and wild meadows, and above all, low lying areas and water ways.

http://www.beekeepinghttp://www.bee...ent.php?attachmentid=12432&stc=1&d=1444813521

Thanks for posting the pics Richard. Are there Asian Hornet proof bee suits?

 

[Plenty of honey]

Thanks for posting the pics Richard. Are there Asian Hornet proof bee suits?

Yes there are, we joke about those "haz mat" suite the fire service use. In reality, most professional guys who treat these nests buy the proper suits. Their pretty thick, plastic/rubber based material, that basically the hornets just can't get their stinger through. Not pleasant to wear, hot and also quite constrictive in your movement.
How the hell these guys climb trees wearing one of these i just can't figure out.

Their around the £110 mark, or 130 Euros, so not cheap, but if its your job, totally necessary.
The Common Hornet (vespa Crabo) dosent defend its nest like an Asian hornet does. In many cases a smallish nest (of the common hornet) if it needed destroying, with say 50 workers, could be dealt with wearing a good beekeepers suit, but as these Asian Hornets hunt in packs and are totally different in their approach to defences, never mess with them Coz their Little Fuxxers!! and i mean that, they are really nasty!!

Thats why they do so well, a bit like a mean hive, their very effective at what they do!!

 

[oliver90owner]

Previous reports have suggested they build high in the canopy and are difficult to locate. Seems they are very adaptable and are nesting in any available shelter. That will help them to move to cooler areas...

 

[Norton Caff]

That is close. Just a casual day trip away!

 

[abm]

Hornets

The TV programme i saw last week showed a UK pestie that had moved to France and was treating these hornets on a weekly basis now, and said the nests were muliple queened.

 

[Belgianbeekeeper]

Previous reports have suggested they build high in the canopy and are difficult to locate. Seems they are very adaptable and are nesting in any available shelter. That will help them to move to cooler areas...

W've made a hornet buster team here,most secundairy nests are real high up,so the team has industrial rope workers to get us to the nests,but hej now,last week we found one 20 cm above the ground builded around a oaktree,thing is 10% don't move to a secundairy nest and just build out their primairy.Admin,this is not a commercial advertisement,nest in Belgium getting destroyed for free,just as info.They can be hard to find but only can be found if you actually search for them,took us a bit but by august we had our local area hornet free and could start helping out others further away.

 

[Belgianbeekeeper]

Yes there are, we joke about those "haz mat" suite the fire service use. In reality, most professional guys who treat these nests buy the proper suits. Their pretty thick, plastic/rubber based material, that basically the hornets just can't get their stinger through. Not pleasant to wear, hot and also quite constrictive in your movement.
How the hell these guys climb trees wearing one of these i just can't figure out.

Their around the £110 mark, or 130 Euros, so not cheap, but if its your job, totally necessary.
The Common Hornet (vespa Crabo) dosent defend its nest like an Asian hornet does. In many cases a smallish nest (of the common hornet) if it needed destroying, with say 50 workers, could be dealt with wearing a good beekeepers suit, but as these Asian Hornets hunt in packs and are totally different in their approach to defences, never mess with them Coz their Little Fuxxers!! and i mean that, they are really nasty!!

Thats why they do so well, a bit like a mean hive, their very effective at what they do!!

There are "vented" hornet suites availeble,but even more expensive,very light to wear tho,worth the money if you need to work in them a lot,sold by edialux.

 

[fian]

La avispa asiática (velutina) llegó a Galicia en 2013, a través de la cornisa cantábrica. Desde esta posición se expande hacia el interior a razón de 50 km/año, menos en las zonas montañosas.
Ciclo vital.
Invierno. Hibernación de las reinas del año anterior.
Primavera. La reina inicia el nido primario y organiza la primera nidada. Momento ideal para atrapar y cazar a las reinas mientras buscan alimento para las primeras crías.
El verano. La reina y las obreras abandonan el nido primario (del tamaño de un puño). Iniciación y expansión del nido secundario.
Otoño. Las obreras buscan proteína (caza de abejas o cualquier insecto) para la cría de reinas y machos. El nido se deshace y, dependiendo de la dureza del clima, las reinas entran en hibernación y las obreras se refugian y alimentan. Es el momento más crítico en el colmenar, dependiendo de la intensidad se puede paralizar la actividad en las colmenas.