Asian Hornets

[Ian123]

Well supposedly he’s lost 10 of 17 hives?……call me cynical

UK bees in danger as Asian hornet sightings rise

The invasive insect threatens to get a foothold, with nests found in East Sussex, Kent, Devon and Dorset.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

was that just through his own incompetence?

 

[Ian123]

was that just through his own incompetence?

No clearly it’s the Asian Hornets fault

 

[JamezF]

Well supposedly he’s lost 10 of 17 hives?……call me cynical

UK bees in danger as Asian hornet sightings rise

The invasive insect threatens to get a foothold, with nests found in East Sussex, Kent, Devon and Dorset.

www.bbc.co.uk

I must admit that I had a sharp intake of breath when I read that. In the height of summer I'd have thought you'd need a pretty fierce rate of predation to lose ten hives before you could do anything about it and that you'd notice something seriously amiss in time even if you were only inspecting every other week.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

his apiary must be a permanent cloud of Velutina
What part of cloud cuckoo land does he live?

 

[Ian123]

his apiary must be a permanent cloud of Velutina
What part of cloud cuckoo land does he live?

The wilds of remotest Kent

 

[hemo]

It is either bad reporting/scare mongering or the beek wanting to make headlines , JBM has likely hit the nail on the head in #2.

 

[Erichalfbee]

beek wanting to make headlines

My money is on that.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The wilds of remotest Kent

How can we have the odd report of The Asian Hornet only to have one beekeeper report the destruction of TEN colonies? Sounds Rubbish. You'd think he would have noticed something was happening !

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You'd think he would have noticed something was happening

depend what orifice his head was stuck in at the time

 

[rolande]

This beekeeper who is claimed to have lost ten colonies, Simon Spratley, has been interviewed previously, my instinct is that the Mirror interview that I'm going to link is what he actually said while the article linked in the opening post of this thread reports 'something else'.

Exactly where Asian hornets have been found as sightings spark invasion fears

More of the venomous bugs that can kill in minutes have now turned up on mainland Britain, fuelling fears that Asian hornets are spreading from France this summer

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Erichalfbee]

This beekeeper who is claimed to have lost ten colonies, Simon Spratley, has been interviewed previously, my instinct is that the Mirror interview that I'm going to link is what he actually said while the article linked in the opening post of this thread reports 'something else'.

Exactly where Asian hornets have been found as sightings spark invasion fears

More of the venomous bugs that can kill in minutes have now turned up on mainland Britain, fuelling fears that Asian hornets are spreading from France this summer

www.mirror.co.uk

What a shambles.....worse than Chinese Whispers.
Thanks for that @rolande

 

[Dolo]

This is going to be bad news for the European hornet - or anything that people don't recognise - if the media develop this into their usual doomsday nonsense. If only they could be objective and educate people rather than scaremonger for sales.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Now appearing on Wimbledon Common, SW London, according to the Telegraph.

 

[Kimberley Moore Ede]

Not sure you are all being completely fair. I have to agree that not noticing until that late would potentially be negligent, but they are quite a threat. A friend in Israel said it was horrible watching them attack her hive. They are hard to stop when in large numbers, they would just hover at the door and pick off the bees as they flew in and out. I do agree that I can't see how he would miss THAT much activity because it would have been pretty obvious.

 

[Blunt Spike]

This beekeeper who is claimed to have lost ten colonies, Simon Spratley, has been interviewed previously, my instinct is that the Mirror interview that I'm going to link is what he actually said while the article linked in the opening post of this thread reports 'something else'.

Exactly where Asian hornets have been found as sightings spark invasion fears

More of the venomous bugs that can kill in minutes have now turned up on mainland Britain, fuelling fears that Asian hornets are spreading from France this summer

www.mirror.co.uk

I've just read that story.
What I did find interesting is the change from AH stings are no more dangerous to humans than wasps etc at the start, then by the end "Ten people on Jersey have already sought urgent medical treatment this year after being attacked. Thankfully they survived but the threat is real - Asian hornet stings have led to the deaths of at least five people in France, with more victims in other European countries. The venom is so powerful, it causes people to go into anaphylactic shock. Victims can die within minutes of being attacked unless they receive urgent medical treatment."
Ten people attacked, did this somehow morph into 10 hives destroyed when used by another newspaper?

Maybe these stories are helpful as more people on the look out, but the photo in the paper as per Eric's post certainly isn't helpful.

 

[Ian123]

Not sure you are all being completely fair. I have to agree that not noticing until that late would potentially be negligent, but they are quite a threat. A friend in Israel said it was horrible watching them attack her hive. They are hard to stop when in large numbers, they would just hover at the door and pick off the bees as they flew in and out. I do agree that I can't see how he would miss THAT much activity because it would have been pretty obvious.

It’s not a case of being fair……it could well be the reporter exaggerating but it’s worded as a direct quote. Whilst they are a threat even in areas inundated with them people aren’t losing those numbers or anything close

 

[Dolo]

Shame the Telegraph use the wrong insect in their picture. Environment editor indeed.

 

[Dodge]

Shame the Telegraph use the wrong insect in their picture. Environment editor indeed.

Beat me to it, lovely picture of Vespa Crabo; our native Hornet.

 

[fian]

If the Asian hornet settles in the United Kingdom in the same way as in Galicia, forget about garden/backyard beekeeping.