BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • Asian Hornet Sightings

  • Honeybee pests and diseases.
Honeybee pests and diseases.
 #2089  by DianeBees
 24 Feb 2019, 10:54
Colin Lodge wrote:
18 Feb 2019, 19:11
Where reports are unsubstantiated by photographic or physical evidence then NBU will ask the nearest AHAT to investigate and substantiate or dismiss the report as necessary. On verification of the presence of AH the Inspectors will be sent in.

I know how what questions I ask when I deal with a swarm related call.
What questions do I need to be asking when I deal with an Asian hornet call?

I've got a few ideas and would like to create a system by which we could eliminate as many unnecessary visits as possible.

I don't visit any bumblebees because I make sure I've been sent a photo.
I've amended my bees in a bird box questions to include 'how big is the bird box'.

What advice on taking photos of potential asian hornets should we give to the public ringing us up?
 #2096  by Chrisbarlow
 24 Feb 2019, 18:06
Good questions Diane,

I would suggest speak to your local bee inspector and see what they say

You could also speak to your local AHAT coordinator as well. Unless your going to tell me it's you.

I am not really sure but getting a photo would be a good start. I suspect getting a positive ID from a member of the public is also something DEFRA find demanding dare I say. Catch the specimen would be top of the list if possible.
 #2098  by NigelP
 24 Feb 2019, 18:20
Alas, the pessimist in me says we should sit back and expect the inevitable. The NBU gave a talk at a recent Bee Farmers meeting, the synopsis is the nests can be very difficult to find. I forget which sighting they were looking for but they found the nest by accident in a tree by a local supermarket where they had been going for the past week to buy lunch. A gusty day opened up a tree in the car park and one spotted the nest.....by chance. The radio transmitters they attach to hornets are difficult to use and the signal is very weak, you need to have your gear pointing directly at the hornet.
And they reported something like 80,000 calls/emails reporting sightings of the Asian Hornet...no man power how do they follow up all of those? I recall the Devon/Cornwall sighting guy getting annoyed they didn't send someone immediately he thought he saw one and he had to provide photographic evidence...now he knows why.

My opinion is it's already here we just don't realise it yet. Better to learn how to deal with it than to fight the inevitable. People are still keeping bees in Portugal/Spain/France it's not the end of the world.
 #2105  by Chrisbarlow
 25 Feb 2019, 16:30
I would agree Nigel, I think it is here already but I believe the more aggressive the nbu are in dealing with sightings the better it is for beekeepers at least in the short term. The more publicity aimed at beekeepers is also a good thing, so when it does appear they might be more prepared.
 #2159  by MickBBKA
 28 Feb 2019, 00:19
This is all a complete waste of time and energy. They are either here or coming very soon. The ' Dads Army ' approach is typical of this country and all governments. They have failed with every single exotic species invasion. Asian Hornet should be considered the Ebola of Beekeeping, not a bit of a tummy bug like our government is doing. If you look at the reports from the last few years you can see it is going exactly the same way as France.
The BBKA should be pressuring the government to treat this like it is, an environmental disaster in the making, worse than an oil spill, and how much do they cost to clean up ?
Expecting volunteers to do the work is a disgrace. This needs trained, paid, retainers, with lawful powers of access to investigate on standby to cover it.
I strongly suspect our local AHAT will get a million calls this summer about wasps. A bit like me getting almost 200 calls in 2 days about Tree Bumbles. I am no longer on the Swarm collectors list !


Cheers, Mick.
 #2160  by Chrisbarlow
 28 Feb 2019, 07:51
You may be right Mick. However the response we are getting is the response we've got. If I could change anything it would be training beekeepers how to deal with them once they're in our apiaries.
 #2166  by Chrisbarlow
 28 Feb 2019, 19:35
A really good article in this month's bbka March magazine about asian hornet traps and bait by Andrew Durham. Well worth a read when it drops on the mat.
 #2167  by NigelP
 28 Feb 2019, 20:02
Chrisbarlow wrote:
28 Feb 2019, 07:51
You may be right Mick. However the response we are getting is the response we've got. If I could change anything it would be training beekeepers how to deal with them once they're in our apiaries.
Interesting method used in Turkey is keeping chickens in apiary. Initially fed a mixture of corn and dead hornets then nothing.... so they associate hornets as their food source. No mention was made of how if affected their egg laying ;)
 #2168  by Chrisbarlow
 28 Feb 2019, 20:14
NigelP wrote:
28 Feb 2019, 20:02
Interesting method used in Turkey is keeping chickens in apiary. Initially fed a mixture of corn and dead hornets then nothing.... so they associate hornets as their food source. No mention was made of how if affected their egg laying ;)
Thats awesome Nigel. never mind laying rate what about flavour? asian hornet flavoured omlet for breakfast any one?