Try and spot the Asian hornets in this image.
For more help identifying the invasive species see the excellent BBKA Asian hornet pages.
Asian hornet threat in Gloucestershire
The BBKA and the Cheltenham and Gloucester Beekeeping Association aim to raise awareness of the Asian hornet as it could decimate our pollinators including our honeybees. It is important for everyone to be actively looking for it. If you spot an Asian Hornet, please report it by using the free Asian Hornet Watch App available free on both Android and iphone or alternatively you can fill in the online form.
European hornet and Asian hornet side by side
The Asian hornet has significant differences. The abdomen is more black with few yellow stripes. It is slightly smaller in size. It has yellow legs and is sometimes referred to as “The yellow legged hornet”.
Asian hornet (Vespa Velutina) Trapping FAQs
The spread of Asian hornets across the UK is almost guaranteed. Global warming has made our climate more hospitable and the invasive species is expected to spread unabated unless we are prepared to do all we can to reduce its impact.
Q. Why does it matter to the UK?
A. Our native insects are already in severe decline thanks to human factors including
intensive farming, fertilizers and pesticides. Insects are the primary food source for many of our birds, and they too are suffering. Swifts and starlings, blue tits, nuthatch and greater
spotted woodpecker numbers have dropped significantly in recent years.
Since 1980, one out of every six birds have been lost. That adds up to the loss of 600 million breeding birds over 40 years, according to a 2021 study from the RSPB.
The Asian hornet is a top honeybee predator and will further decimate our remaining
insects. Many insects are pollinators including wasps and bee species. Crops may therefore fail or suffer poor harvests.
Q. Why does it matter to beekeepers?
A. The Asian hornet find honey bees a particularly good source of food.
Initially, queens will hawk around hives in spring and kill individual bees to feed to her
developing larvae.
Once the worker hornets emerge, they will attack hives in earnest. This will cause the bees great stress and reduce their numbers. Once they have identified this ready food source, Asian hornets will return to attack the hive and decapitate the workers. Later they will invade the hive and eat the developing larvae. A whole hive can be destroyed in a short space of time.
Honey production will be reduced or lost.
Bees will be stressed and vulnerable.
Whole colonies will be lost.
One Asian hornet can reputedly hunt down and kill up to 50 honeybees a day.
The invaders cost the French economy an estimated €30.8m a year, while the insects have caused a 35% drop in honey production in Portugal in recent years.
Q. Where are Asian hornets in the UK?
A. The UK sightings so far in 2023 are clustered around the coast in Kent, Dorset, Hampshire, Plymouth and Weymouth.
Q. When might Asian hornets reach Gloucestershire?
A. It’s difficult to predict but, when hornet queens migrate in the spring, they travel up to 60 miles before building a nest. At that rate, they could spread from Dorset in a year, certainly two.
Q. What can beekeepers do to limit the invaders?
A. The approach needs several lines of counter-attack.
1. Eliminate queens early on before their brood hatches by trapping.
2. Track and trace worker hornets to destroy primary and secondary nests.
3. Trap and kill in the Autumn.
Q. Who can do this?
A. In the case of queens, beekeepers should trap queens in the spring and workers in the autumn but minimise any bycatch.
When trapping and tracing, Asian Hornet Action Teams (AHAT) must be alert for possible sightings and try to identify and report nests using the Asian hornet app. The public can report sightings too using the same method.
A number of release licenses will be issued to enable AHAT members to release trapped Asian hornets. Without the licenses, it is illegal to release Asian hornets as they are a non-native invasive species.
Nest destruction needs specialist equipment and clothing. If high in trees, access equipment is needed. This will be undertaken by the National Bee Unit (NBU), NOT beekeepers.
Q. Are we likely to eliminate all Asian hornets?
A. Almost certainly NOT! There are many areas that are inaccessible for example Motorway verges and roundabouts, cliffs, wildernesses etc.
Q. What traps are recommended?
A. There are several but the following have proven very effective:
Vespa Catch (below) – Inexpensive and subsidised by CGBKA at £4.30 each (Max 2). Normally cost £13 including 5 lures
Gard’Apis (below) – very effective at reducing bycatch. Cost in excess of £20 each
It is recommended you own two Asian hornet traps for every five hives.
Q. What else can beekeepers do to protect their hives?
A1. Let the grass grow in front of hives longer to prevent Asian hornets lurking underneath and hawking.
A2. Trap (selectively) Asian hornets by placing traps some distance from hives to avoid attracting them to hives.
A3. Buy and fit a MUZZLE (below) to each hive to provide protection for bees leaving and returning. Approx. £28 each.
A4. Buy Electric Harps (below), power supplies and wiring to kill Asian hornets circling around hives. At least £300+ each plus power supply.
Note: Above solutions are in ascending order of cost (cheapest at the top, most expensive at the bottom).
Overall
Be prepared and order now before supplies become limited.