HELP - Hornets

[Erichalfbee]

When are we going to get away from this bee-centric way of looking at insects?
Wasps and hornets are pollinators too, as well as their important role in natural predation. They keep down spiders and other insects in the natural balance of life.
I'm not saying we'd be knee-deep in dead insects without the likes of wasps and hornets cleaning up, but it's probably closer to the truth than a lot of people would like to think.
The focus should be on keeping secure, strong hives which can protect themselves rather than killing all the wasps in sight.

Absolutely
The best defence is to keep strong colonies and have entrances the bees can defend.
it’s difficult standing back if a colony is under serious attack though.
I do have a waspbane next to one nuc and in two weeks there are three wasps in it. I don’t go out of the way to trap otherwise. Putting a trap in a tree to catch gazillions of wasps Is madness

 

[bobthecob]

When are we going to get away from this bee-centric way of looking at insects?
Wasps and hornets are pollinators too, as well as their important role in natural predation. They keep down spiders and other insects in the natural balance of life.
I'm not saying we'd be knee-deep in dead insects without the likes of wasps and hornets cleaning up, but it's probably closer to the truth than a lot of people would like to think.
The focus should be on keeping secure, strong hives which can protect themselves rather than killing all the wasps in sight.

Totally agree, but indiscriminate trapping is sadly practiced by many beekeepers, as can be seen by many threads on this forum. Probably the same beekeepers who boast to their friends about how crucial their bees are in pollinating crops etc.

 

[xray7]

When are we going to get away from this bee-centric way of looking at insects?
Wasps and hornets are pollinators too, as well as their important role in natural predation. They keep down spiders and other insects in the natural balance of life.
I'm not saying we'd be knee-deep in dead insects without the likes of wasps and hornets cleaning up, but it's probably closer to the truth than a lot of people would like to think.
The focus should be on keeping secure, strong hives which can protect themselves rather than killing all the wasps in sight.

I agree with little_bees except to say that at this time of the season when queen wasps have stopped laying the worker wasps are redundant and instead of predating insects as protein for young brood they turn their attention to sweet rewards in which case they outlive their usefulness.

 

[North End Bees]

in which case they outlive their usefulness.

So we kill everything that has outlived its usefulness?!
Don't tell my 90 year old mother in law!

 

[Austin]

Hi,
I have hornets devouring the colonies in my garden. I don’t know where their nest is to get rid of them. I’ve swatted a few but is there any way of preventing them from grabbing the bees?
Any suggestions gratefully received.

Hello, I live in Normandy, and a couple if weeks ago I met a lovely couple in the town of Falaise (William the Conquerer’s home). The couple were both beekeepers, and had had problems with Asian hornets. They had constructed wooden frames with a covering of chicken mesh (the holes were probably about 10mm), and they had installed an electronic hornet trap. I have never seen one before, it was a vertical four sided frame, with fine wires strung top to bottom. Bees fly easily between the wires, but hornets hit a wire and are destroyed. They believe the combination of both these approaches has controlled the issue. Austin

 

[North End Bees]

They had constructed wooden frames with a covering of chicken mesh (the holes were probably about 10mm)

These muselieres are quite common in France where they have a big Asian Hornet problem. Asian Hornets predate very differently from V. crabro, particularly because they are much more agile in the air.
No doubt in a year or two we'll also be protecting our hives with these muselieres but it'll be in defence of V.velutina not crabro.

 

[Swarm]

Much bigger nest too.

 

[malgreen]

Real problem with wasps must have caught 200 or so in home made bottle trap filled with cola. Only 1 hornet amongst them. I also try and keep everything covered as it seems the wasps just need the slightest sniff of honey and they appear from nowhere.

 

[user 819]

The Op as yet hasn't confirmed wih a description or pic of said hornet/s yet as to what they are.

 

[Swn58]

The video recording is very poor and out of focus but there does seem to be a lot of dead insects in there, if they are Crabro then all I can say is it's a shame that you decide to kill so many.

If I remember rightly.....he worked for C4 back in the 80's ....doing those 'fly on the wall ' hand held documentries? Now it's the 'hornet in the jar' stuff...........

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

When are we going to get away from this bee-centric way of looking at insects?
Wasps and hornets are pollinators too, as well as their important role in natural predation. They keep down spiders and other insects in the natural balance of life.
I'm not saying we'd be knee-deep in dead insects without the likes of wasps and hornets cleaning up, but it's probably closer to the truth than a lot of people would like to think.
The focus should be on keeping secure, strong hives which can protect themselves rather than killing all the wasps in sight.

I would like to agree, as I don’t like killing anything, but this year has been different. It was not just the bees under siege, but anything that moved outside. I have destroyed two wasp nests within 50 yards of the apiary and another a little further away. I have left a fourth one alone as it’s further away still. Having done so and had multiple traps out, the wasp situation is now what I would call normal for the time of year. I check them regularly to let the hornets out.
Fitting tunnel entrances has been the most effective action for the bees.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I have hornets devouring the colonies in my garden. Any suggestions gratefully received.

How strong are your colonies? Rammed with bees or tiddling along? Any decently strong colony with an entrance reduced to one bee space should be able to withstand attack. Don't bother swatting, it's a waste of time and hornet.

You say that hornets are devouring the colonies in my garden, but what does that dramatic description really mean? Taking a few bees on the wing? That's nature at work; if you don't like it, look the other way.

I agree with Little Bee: we should avoid the temptation to terminate one pollinating social insect in favour of another.

 

[Curly green finger's]

How strong are your colonies? Rammed with bees or tiddling along? Any decently strong colony with an entrance reduced to one bee space should be able to withstand attack. Don't bother swatting, it's a waste of time and hornet.

You say that hornets are devouring the colonies in my garden, but what does that dramatic description really mean? Taking a few bees on the wing? That's nature at work; if you don't like it, look the other way.

I agree with Little Bee: we should avoid the temptation to terminate one pollinating social insect in favour of another.

I thought as beekeepers we loved all Flora and fauna, isn't that our purpose.

There's enough distruction in the world, the more we don't add to it the better.
A bit heavy I know

 

[user 819]

Real problem with wasps must have caught 200 or so in home made bottle trap filled with cola. Only 1 hornet amongst them. I also try and keep everything covered as it seems the wasps just need the slightest sniff of honey and they appear from nowhere.

I've no doubt that if I put a wasp trap out I would also drown/kill a few hundred wasps but I don't and have yet to have an issue with wasps and hives, yes I do see wasps scouting about the floor of colonies looking for easy prey.
Like wise if I'm cleaning equipment up on a nice day outdoors I get interest from both bees and wasps but doesn't mean I put traps out, when I stop and pack up they soon go away as there is nowt for them.

CGF has it nailed people are all too often keen on killing anything that flies or stings.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I've no doubt that if I put a wasp trap out I would also drown/kill a few hundred wasps but I don't and have yet to have an issue with wasps and hives, yes I do see wasps scouting about the floor of colonies looking for easy prey.
Like wise if I'm cleaning equipment up on a nice day outdoors I get interest from both bees and wasps but doesn't mean I put traps out, when I stop and pack up they soon go away as there is nowt for them.

CGF has it nailed people are all too often keen on killing anything that flies or stings.

When I first started beekeeping, I put home made traps up.. But you know the children questioned my reasoning.. Little tikes!.
It made me think.
#allinsectsmatter.

I've seen what wasps can do to a weak colony, and its not pretty..
I made a vow to make my colonys as strong as possible, so that there would be less chance of it happening again.. And tutch wood it hasn't.
Even if it did happen again I still would be thinking the same.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I

When I first started beekeeping, I put home made traps up.. But you know the children questioned my reasoning.. Little tikes!.
It made me think.
#allinsectsmatter.

I've seen what wasps can do to a weak colony, and its not pretty..
I made a vow to make my colonys as strong as possible, so that there would be less chance of it happening again.. And tutch wood it hasn't.
Even if it did happen again I still would be thinking the same.

In my first year I put a glue trap out as advertised happily on this forum.
It caught a few wasps and flies but also a blue tit after the flies. I was mortified at how the poor bird died..................
I've found a Waspbane next to a vulnerable colony put out before wasps are a problem catches a few (less than 20) and the hives aren't ever bothered. Put out after they are being attacked the traps catch hundreds so I try to put them out early if at all

 

[enrico]

I thought as beekeepers we loved all Flora and fauna, isn't that our purpose.

There's enough distruction in the world, the more we don't add to it the better.
A bit heavy I know

The wasps at this stage are over eating other insects and being a help. All they are doing now is waiting to die and eating sweet stuff. While that does not necessarily give us an excuse for killing them it does make me feel that I would rather kill wasps than have a hive of bees die that will live through winter!
E

 

[malgreen]

I've no doubt that if I put a wasp trap out I would also drown/kill a few hundred wasps but I don't and have yet to have an issue with wasps and hives, yes I do see wasps scouting about the floor of colonies looking for easy prey.
Like wise if I'm cleaning equipment up on a nice day outdoors I get interest from both bees and wasps but doesn't mean I put traps out, when I stop and pack up they soon go away as there is nowt for them.

CGF has it nailed people are all too often keen on killing anything that flies or stings.

Best you keep wasps instead. Sorry to tell you but if someone wants to steal from me or harm my friends ( the bees) they are going to get it. No emotion. Besides as someone has rightly said wasps are at the end of their life the bees have a chance to carry on. maybe you won't be so gracious when the Asian hornet comes to town. I'd petition all the nasty bee suppliers as well for supplying wasp traps.

 

[user 819]

Best you keep wasps instead. Sorry to tell you but if someone wants to steal from me or harm my friends ( the bees) they are going to get it. No emotion. Besides as someone has rightly said wasps are at the end of their life the bees have a chance to carry on. maybe you won't be so gracious when the Asian hornet comes to town. I'd petition all the nasty bee suppliers as well for supplying wasp traps.

One acts accordingly to local situation's, I find your reply quite strange.
I have no major issues with wasps so I let alone, until they cause me any issues I see no use in trapping to kill them for the sake of it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I find your reply quite strange.

I find it incomprehensible