Asian hornets

[Austin]

Greetings,
My bees are suffering ongoing attacks from Asian hornets. Can anyone suggest ways that I can help them to protect themselves, please.
Many thanks,
Austin

 

[pargyle]

We have a few members based in France where there is a problem with Asian Hornets, hopefully someone will be along to give you advice.. We are fortunate that, in the UK, we only have the very early signs of this invasive species arriving on our shores so we have not had to deal with the effect they have on our honey bee colonies.

It's probably only a matter of time before we do have to deal with this menace and I would certainly be interested to know how our beekeeping colleagues, where the Asian Hornet is established, deal with the problem.

 

[Sutty]

There is another thread on here which describes stunning with an electric fly-swat and painting with a fipronil+feed mix. Only if legal in your area, I see you are in France.

Asian hornets in the UK. A chance of stopping them?

 

[oxnatbees]

Greetings,
My bees are suffering ongoing attacks from Asian hornets. Can anyone suggest ways that I can help them to protect themselves, please.
Many thanks,
Austin

I have an idea. I don't know if it will work, but it is cheap and worth a try.

AH are visual-oriented predators. I have heard AH will break off an attack if another hornet is on a collision course. So:

Mount mirrors around the hive entrance.

You can get cheap weatherproof garden mirrors or mylar sheeting.

Bees rapidly map / ignore obstacles around their entrance, like robbing guards, so will probably be unaffected, but the AH MAY be distracted enough for bees to escape.

I would love to know if this works. I've suggested it to a couple of people, but never had feedback on results.

 

[Nannysbees]

Greetings,
My bees are suffering ongoing attacks from Asian hornets. Can anyone suggest ways that I can help them to protect themselves, please.
Many thanks,
Austin

Have a look at richard noel, bees in Brittany, he has a YouTube channel he may give you some advice.I know he has big problems with Asian hornets

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have an idea. I don't know if it will work, but it is cheap and worth a try.

AH are visual-oriented predators. I have heard AH will break off an attack if another hornet is on a collision course. So:

Mount mirrors around the hive entrance.

You can get cheap weatherproof garden mirrors or mylar sheeting.

Bees rapidly map / ignore obstacles around their entrance, like robbing guards, so will probably be unaffected, but the AH MAY be distracted enough for bees to escape.

I would love to know if this works. I've suggested it to a couple of people, but never had feedback on results.

Richard Noel’s videos show dozens of hornets hunting at the entrance. They don’t seem to put each other off. Fipronil is quite successful

 

[Swarm]

Poor bloke was close to tears earlier this year. He was adding pollen sub and syrup at one apiary and seemed to think it was helping with the colonies not flying.

 

[Erichalfbee]

And yet last year the number of hornets was low.
Always a plague just found the corner. They have to be really on top of spring trapping too.

 

[oxnatbees]

Richard Noel’s videos show dozens of hornets hunting at the entrance. They don’t seem to put each other off. Fipronil is quite successful

Very good point

 

[Arran]

Hi Austin
I don't know your situation, but here in N Spain this year has been particularly bad for Asian hornets.
We use trapping, physical barriers, electric harps and baits. We also have council workers full time destroying nests and still they are everywhere. I've lost three hives this summer and the rest of the bees haven't foraged since end of July.
At this point bad weather will start to diminish their numbers.
Minimise the hive entrances and predate the hornets.
The hornets communicate with each other and work in teams. If you kill as many as possible over a half hour or so they will stop coming for a while. I use a butterfly net and blunt instrument. If your apiary is a dangerous place they will seak easier prey. (For a while!)

 

[alisonfosterbell]

Hi Austin
I don't know your situation, but here in N Spain this year has been particularly bad for Asian hornets.
We use trapping, physical barriers, electric harps and baits. We also have council workers full time destroying nests and still they are everywhere. I've lost three hives this summer and the rest of the bees haven't foraged since end of July.
At this point bad weather will start to diminish their numbers.
Minimise the hive entrances and predate the hornets.
The hornets communicate with each other and work in teams. If you kill as many as possible over a half hour or so they will stop coming for a while. I use a butterfly net and blunt instrument. If your apiary is a dangerous place they will seak easier prey. (For a while!)

Absolutely! I'm in Northern France and my colonies have hardly put their noses out for 7 weeks to forage. There are Asian Hornets hunting outside each colony all day long. I've put cages over the entrances, I've put out lots of traps (white wine, stout and sweet syrup), I go regularly (though it's not near home and it's difficult after work with the days shortening) to swat with a badminton raquet for half an hour... A couple of weeks' ago I killed 57 in 75 minutes! It's important to make sure they are chopped in half as a swipe isn't enough, merely stuns them for a moment. I have noticed that they are quick to avoid me now when I arrive (so yes, they must surely communicate ) as I usually only get a dozen or so in half an hour. But presumably wait until I've gone.... I am very worried about a couple of my colonies who won't survive the winter I don't think...

 

[Sutty]

Obviously I haven't seen what their flight pattern is like as I live in the UK.
Just wondering if you could capture them with a small hand-held vacuum cleaner & then chill them to allow putting custard with fipronil on the thorax.

 

[Erichalfbee]

merely stuns them for a moment.

Stunning is good. Quick dab of Fipronil “custard” and away she flies to poison the nest

 

[user 819]

Absolutely! I'm in Northern France and my colonies have hardly put their noses out for 7 weeks to forage. There are Asian Hornets hunting outside each colony all day long. I've put cages over the entrances, I've put out lots of traps (white wine, stout and sweet syrup), I go regularly (though it's not near home and it's difficult after work with the days shortening) to swat with a badminton raquet for half an hour... A couple of weeks' ago I killed 57 in 75 minutes! It's important to make sure they are chopped in half as a swipe isn't enough, merely stuns them for a moment. I have noticed that they are quick to avoid me now when I arrive (so yes, they must surely communicate ) as I usually only get a dozen or so in half an hour. But presumably wait until I've gone.... I am very worried about a couple of my colonies who won't survive the winter I don't think...

Sounds like one needs to make a life size cut out of one self and site it in the apiary holding the raquet.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Greetings,
My bees are suffering ongoing attacks from Asian hornets. Can anyone suggest ways that I can help them to protect themselves, please.
Many thanks,

Greetings,
My bees are suffering ongoing attacks from Asian hornets. Can anyone suggest ways that I can help them to protect themselves, please.
Many thanks,
Austin

After doing some research I knocked up the following floor but living in the UK I haven’t a clue if it works Its based on the theory that bees can fly through a 25mm square gap without slowing down so can fly directly into the “lobby” from a choice of 3 directions. They then go via a 6mm high slot to a ramp up into bottom of the hive via a sealable slot.
If you can get one made up it may help?

 

[Erichalfbee]

After doing some research I knocked up the following floor but living in the UK I haven’t a clue if it works Its based on the theory that bees can fly through a 25mm square gap without slowing down so can fly directly into the “lobby” from a choice of 3 directions. They then go via a 6mm high slot to a ramp up into bottom of the hive via a sealable slot.
If you can get one made up it may help?

Heavens...if that works it will be genius!
I'd get that design protected just in case. You could give up beekeeping

 

[manek]

Looks ingenious - well done! However, can it prevent hornets grabbing incoming foragers on the wing, which is the Asian hornet's usual MO?

 

[Newbeeneil]

Looks ingenious - well done! However, can it prevent hornets grabbing incoming foragers on the wing, which is the Asian hornet's usual MO?

As I say I'm not sure it will work but it gives the bees several options of approach ( my first design had 4 ways with the entrance into the hive via a hole on the centre of the hive.) They can also fly straight into the "lobby" without slowing down which I believe is how the French "muzzle" systems work. I also believe that the hornets don't like being in confined spaces so would not really chase the bees into the dark interior.

 

[Sutty]

For better or worse this idea is now "in the public domain", and so not patentable. Great idea, I hope it works!

 

[Newbeeneil]

Heavens...if that works it will be genius!
I'd get that design protected just in case. You could give up beekeeping

I've tried to protect designs before and to be honest there are so many ways around patents it's hardly worth the expense. If it works any beekeeper is welcome to use the idea.