Hornet help!

[kazmcc]

I hope they make it. I don't know anything about hornets and their feeding and foraging strategies. Lets hope it was just a one off and it doesn't pose any more problems.

 

[wessexmario]

whatever you do, DON'T use newspaper photos to identify hornets as they invariably post any old photo and get it wrong.

 

[Thymallus]

I'll recapitulate some of a previous post I made about Asian Hornets, hopefully not relevant in this case.
!Also very interesting behavior, unlike the European Hornet that likes a few flying bees daily The Asian Hornets tactics are long term designed to eventually get access and destroy the whole the colony. They have a main nest and then scouts find suitable feeding stations where second "bivouac" nests are established. (in eradicating them the main nest has to be found).

Their initial tactics are to keep the bees confined inside the hive, knocking off the odd one or twenty as they can. It only takes two or three Asian hornets to keep an entire hive confined inside. You can see this on any of the videos where there are bees clustered on the entrances but not flying and foraging and only two or three hornets being deployed in confining the whole hive. Eventually the bees use up their stores as they aren't foraging....weaken and then the invasion by 1000's of them. A veritable feast around mid summer and result is beeless hive.

The difficulty for the beekeeper if they become endemic is that of finding the main nest.....which if you do their tactics are to send a lone hornet out to deter the possible intruder. If this doesn't work then they attack in mass.

The simplest solution is to move your bees to another apairy site away from the hornets bivouac nest site. So migratory beekeepers should be fine. It's the two hives stuck in the back garden where problems can really arise. Particularity as the preferable areas for nesting sites are urban, lightly wooded (tree lined streets). Alternatively you can stand guuard all day knocking them off with a tennis racket....

Apparently the NBU rate them a much more dangerous threat than SHB. "

 

[PaulC]

Hi,
In my experience there are often Asiatic hornets to be found around hive - when it 4-5+ it signals a problem, as they pheromone mark the hive. (The European hornet just looks like a great big wasp, whereas trhe asiatic is not quite so big and is black with a single orange band).
If the predation continues - then a quick solution is to rub Vicks vabour rub under the landing board to confuse any pheromone.
Growing long grass about half a metre in front of the hive will also disguise the entrance.
There are som e traps available and can be made simply and baited to lure the hornets away from the hive.
As a last resort, you just have to move the hive away...
Paul

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Recently, I had a lond weekend in Brittany. At a market in Guincamp I bought some honey from a local beek and we got chatting about his season. He said that Chinese Hornets (Asian Hornets) had been a real problem for him this year and he had had to set up Hornet traps around his apiary.

He showed me some of what he had caught - a lot of the (dead) catch was native Hornets with only a couple of Asian Hornets, one of which he gave me and which I have taken to CBKA meetings to show Cornish beeks what to look for. One significant difference between the two hornets is the yellow legs of the Asian Hornet.

If there's only one hornet around the hive, I'd take a badminton racket to it in order to do a positive id. If it's a native Hornet, leave the nest (if you can find it) alone. If it's an Asian Hornet, try to find the nest and get in touch with the Mairie and report what you've found. I understand the Pompiers are responsible for dealing with Asian Hornet nests.

Bon chance.

CVB

 

[wessexmario]

Recently, I had a lond weekend in Brittany.

would that be a... loud weekend, a long weekend, or a blond weekend?

mind you, a loud long blond weekend sounds good.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

would that be a... loud weekend, a long weekend, or a blond weekend?

mind you, a loud long blond weekend sounds good.

Sorry to be so boring, but it was a long weekend.

CVB

 

[Karsal]

Has anyone tried one of the executioner racquets off the bay. Works well on wasps just a touch of the wire usually immobilises them. Otherwise a badminton racquet is cheaper.

 

[castanea]

Hi do you have any fruit trees? i have a sharon fruit tree what i do is splice open a couple of fruits and Bingo they all arrive.That way the bees are not bothered with them. I seen you open the hives in the morning is it better mine have become so aggressive.

 

[OursonAnglaise]

Castenea,

I'll give the fruit thing a go. The plums are not quite ripe, so I guess when they are ready they may leave my poor bees alone- I didn't get around to setting up the traps either last weekend so I will also set those up with a beer/sugar/water mixture.

Its looking like we might get some storms this weekend, so I hope that will put paid to the hornet activity (or at least remove any pheremones if they are being left).

Yes, I found that mid-day my bees were getting a bit fiesty...not very aggresive, but definitely 'buzzing' me more than they had. I find that between 8 & 9 am it is still warm enough & light enough that most bees have left home and they are not so stressed with the heat - and I am cooler as well which helps me keep calm whilst doing the inspection.

I have one of those electronic bats, so will set up camp next to the hive for a while tomorrow evening to see if I can squat one of them to have a definitive identification....if its a frelon asiatique then I'll be off to the Mairie tout de suite!!!