Asian Hornets...

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It will be interesting to see how our American friends react when they have yellow legged Hornets visiting the almond orchards.

they've managed to denude that area of all insect life apart from bees, as well as most of the flora, so they should be able to cope with VV

 

[fian]

Why do you think that? It lives in a climate that has wide temperature differences. I can’t see why it can’t survive as well here as it does in France - it’s not meant to be a confrontational answer, I’m curious.

If you review my previous post you will realize that I am not the defender of that thesis, and if you reread my post you will realize that it was a criticism of those who defend it.

 

[North End Bees]

or, as I've found out today, people not reading or understanding the data eg conflating every sighting being an individual nest not, as is the truth multiple sighting being connected to a single nest

As of today's DEFRA stats: 26 nests in 23 locations.

That's double the number of nests in all previous years combined. Presumably they managed to count primary and secondary nests correctly in previous years too and they haven't suddenly lost that ability??

Add to this the fact that up until this year nests were only discovered in the autumn when trees were losing their leaf cover.
This many in summer doesn't bode well for autumn

 

[Karol]

My understanding of how a gene drive works is not many at all.
I accept that introducing one into velutina may be hard/impossible. But that may change.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-28867-8

But if the purpose of the gene drive is to engender sterility then the gene drive will cease to 'drive' by definition. Gene drive may well be the way to go to change a specific characteristic of a species (personally I hate the thought - we are far too arrogant to understand all unintended consequences) but that requires dissemination of the genes through continued procreation.

 

[Erichalfbee]

DEFRA says….. so let’s believe it
Can we stick to how important the numbers are and what to do with the information please.

 

[Karol]

I think I must be missing something. Would appreciate help understanding the numbers which don't seem to match the data in the DEFRA link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...tings-recorded-since-2016#confirmed-sightings

 

[North End Bees]

https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/about-us/beekeeping-news/2023-asian-hornet-rolling-updates/

 

[North End Bees]

The stats were on the Asian Hornet Team app. NBU page linked above hasn't been updated as yet today.

 

[Finsbury]

It's certainly underreported here, where in the port town of Newhaven, just a few km down the road, several V. velutina have been spotted, captured and reported.

Not much mention of this incursion by DEFRA. Looks to me like there's a nest somewhere...

Where are you talking about near Newhaven?

 

[fian]

Where are you talking about near Newhaven?

Be careful that through Sussex an enemy has already entered you and won you the game. Not even water to this one.

 

[Nannysbees]

Be careful that through Sussex an enemy has already entered you and won you the game. Not even water to this one.

Sorry, what does this message mean? It's unclear!!!

 

[North End Bees]

Where are you talking about near Newhaven?

Newhaven nest was confirmed by NBU two weeks ago,15th August

 

[fian]

Sorry, what does this message mean? It's unclear!!!

In the year 1066 the Norman William defeats Harold at the Battle of Hastings, bringing England under the foot of a French-Norwegian foreigner.

 

[Sutty]

Be careful that through Sussex an enemy has already entered you and won you the game. Not even water to this one.

This sounds like a cryptic crossword clue!

 

[JamezF]

If this has been mentioned before, I've missed it. I only discovered today that AH does actually have a predator: the European Honey Buzzard. Looks like it is not particularly common in the UK however.

James

 

[Wilco]

So let's start from the beginning.

A Velutina nest when it matures will generate a few thousand sexuals. Each new queen will mate several times. How many millions of engineered sexuals would have to be produced to inhibit the R number given that typically only one queen from a nest survives at equilibrium to bring on a next generation viable nest? You'd have to start raising in captivity with zero release hundreds of thousands of nests. Sound like a Wuhan moment by any chance? Not that anyone has successfully raised any nests in captivity. Believe me I've tried with vulgaris for research purposes and had zero joy. I imagine it'd be a hundred times more difficult with Velutina as it's a more vigorous insect requiring a greater range to sustain itself.

I believe Nottingham University keep a number of wasp colonies for research.

 

[Karol]

I believe Nottingham University keep a number of wasp colonies for research.

Define keep. I have 'kept' wasp colonies for research but they were ones that established themselves naturally. Totally different proposition to raising colonies in captivity.

 

[Erichalfbee]

This, from our own @Plenty of honey is worth watching
https://www.youtube.com/live/rMfw7wzncgM?si=whqauk7UdQiNqJs4

 

[Parsonage Bees]

This, from our own @Plenty of honey is worth watching
https://www.youtube.com/live/rMfw7wzncgM?si=whqauk7UdQiNqJs4

There must be a better presentation on YouTube by someone from the Jersey group. Richard is talking second hand on the work of groups in the thick of finding/destroying AH nests.

When Richard says that he saw no wasps last year because the AH predated on them I'm wondering why I'm seeing no wasps when I was expecting a bad year. Putting out a bait station.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

There must be a better presentation on YouTube by someone from the Jersey group. Richard is talking second hand on the work of groups in the thick of finding/destroying AH nests.

When Richard says that he saw no wasps last year because the AH predated on them I'm wondering why I'm seeing no wasps when I was expecting a bad year. Putting out a bait station.

Richard lives in France? slap bang in the middle of Asian hornet country.
He is in fact a Jersey lad and still spends a lot of time out there with family
Long before Thornes started selling Asian hornets set in acrylic Richard sent me a bag of dead AH's from his apiary traps to use as teaching aids - some actually found their way to the NBU