MJBee
Drone Bee
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2008
- Messages
- 1,812
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Dordogne 24360 France
- Hive Type
- Commercial
- Number of Hives
- 16 a mix of Commercial, National, 14 x 12, Dadant and a Warre
The following is a translation of an article that appeared in a beekeeping magazine. Shows that with vigilance the Asian Hornet can be kept at bay:-
I am bee-keeper in mountainous area, in department of Aude. Until autumn 2008 no Asian hornets had been seen before summer in our department, although the members of the association and the GDSA did not reduce vigilance, the hornet was at our door (Haut-Garronne, Tarn). In October 2008, two single workers of Velutina Vespa were seen and captured one in the west of Carcassonne, the other in one of my apiaries in mountain. No other hornets were observed until the winter arrived.
This spring in March I set a series of traps baited with beer and with the blackcurrant syrup. A total 15 Queen vespa velutina were captured in communes from the suburbs of Carcassonne upto 800m of altitude in mountain. At the end of June, I removed a nest beginning in an empty nucleus box. On of July 20th, in one only of my apiaries I could observe the first attacks, really spectacular, Velutina arrived in waves of 5 or 6, were distributed in front of the hives and set out again approximately 30 seconds after each one with a bee, at once a second wave arrived and so on.
The bees either massed on the landing board for defence, which facilitated the predation, or hid themselves inside the hives as the hornets entered, all foraging by the bees stopped.
Since, I have made a trap, on the model worked out by the INRA of Bordeaux (a simple bucket protected by a plate of plywood), baited with the apple juice. Broadly apple juice drowns 2 times more Velutina than of indigenous hornets some moths, but no bees, wasps or flies. To date, that is to say one month after the installation of trap, more than 700 hornets have been captured, and killed.
The predation is reduced - one hornet for 3 - 4 hives - and the activity of foraging began again. But the predation remains and is necessary to clean the trap and to renew the soft food per week twice, which is very constraining.
With 3km of colleague who has 5 hives and did not see the hornets already lost 2 colonies so much the predation was intense.
There are probably two nests in the sector, but if there no had been trapping in spring there would be a score or more and they would be in all the hives in a radius of 15km with a major threat of disappearance. How to face in the future such a situation?
I am bee-keeper in mountainous area, in department of Aude. Until autumn 2008 no Asian hornets had been seen before summer in our department, although the members of the association and the GDSA did not reduce vigilance, the hornet was at our door (Haut-Garronne, Tarn). In October 2008, two single workers of Velutina Vespa were seen and captured one in the west of Carcassonne, the other in one of my apiaries in mountain. No other hornets were observed until the winter arrived.
This spring in March I set a series of traps baited with beer and with the blackcurrant syrup. A total 15 Queen vespa velutina were captured in communes from the suburbs of Carcassonne upto 800m of altitude in mountain. At the end of June, I removed a nest beginning in an empty nucleus box. On of July 20th, in one only of my apiaries I could observe the first attacks, really spectacular, Velutina arrived in waves of 5 or 6, were distributed in front of the hives and set out again approximately 30 seconds after each one with a bee, at once a second wave arrived and so on.
The bees either massed on the landing board for defence, which facilitated the predation, or hid themselves inside the hives as the hornets entered, all foraging by the bees stopped.
Since, I have made a trap, on the model worked out by the INRA of Bordeaux (a simple bucket protected by a plate of plywood), baited with the apple juice. Broadly apple juice drowns 2 times more Velutina than of indigenous hornets some moths, but no bees, wasps or flies. To date, that is to say one month after the installation of trap, more than 700 hornets have been captured, and killed.
The predation is reduced - one hornet for 3 - 4 hives - and the activity of foraging began again. But the predation remains and is necessary to clean the trap and to renew the soft food per week twice, which is very constraining.
With 3km of colleague who has 5 hives and did not see the hornets already lost 2 colonies so much the predation was intense.
There are probably two nests in the sector, but if there no had been trapping in spring there would be a score or more and they would be in all the hives in a radius of 15km with a major threat of disappearance. How to face in the future such a situation?