Keep Alert for Asian Hornets

[Chalfonts Beekeepers Society]

ASIAN HORNETS

 

 

The British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA) is calling on the public, including tree surgeons, to help fight a major threat to honey bees and other pollinators - Asian hornets.   Numbers of the destructive insect are rising rapidly this summer and more have been detected in the UK this year than in the previous six years combined. Just one Asian hornet can hunt down and eat 300 honey bees a day and their habit of hawking (hovering) outside the hive stops the bees from collecting nectar and pollen to feed themselves. Hornet sightings are filtered by the NBU, part of Defra, and teams of bee inspectors are deployed to track hornets back to their nests which are then destroyed.

 

It is important to take care not to approach or disturb a nest. Asian hornets are not generally aggressive towards people but an exception to this is when they perceive a threat to their nest.  Care must be taken - If you think you have seen an Asian hornet or a nest please report it immediately using the phone app ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ or the online reporting form: https://risc.brc.ac.uk/alert.php?species=asian_hornet

Three Easy Steps to identify an Asian Hornet:

1.      Does it look very black?

2.     Has it got a wide orange stripe on 4th segment of abdomen? 

3.     Do its legs look as if they have been dipped in yellow paint?

Use this link for more information on how to Identify an Asian Hornet

 

 Local Beekeeping groups will have set up Asian Hornet Action Teams - please contact your local society if you need help to report a sighting or identify Asian Hornets

 

Action you should take now:

·       Please familiarise yourselves with the BBKA information on Asian Hornets.

·       Download the Asian Hornet App on your smartphone to enable quick and easy identificatioin and reporting if you have a potential sighting.

·       Do not approach a nest or try to deal with it yourselves – the NBU have trained experts who will take the appropriate action once notified.

Thank you

[daveatdave]

yes its good  but it takes them at least 2 days to respond which is no good if you are pruning or dropping a tree