Asian hornets

[Paul in the woods]

Something very concerning if you're a bee keeper is the arrival of Asian Hornets in the UK as they're more aggressive and more likely to raid honey bee nests than our native hornets.

 

I thought it would be worth a mention here as there's a chance of finding a nest in future. If you do please can I ask you contact [email protected] as they're trying to destroy them before they get a foothold in the UK.

 

More details available, including how to recognise them, form the National Bee Unit here: Beebase - Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers

 

Alert poster PDF: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=1224

 

ID sheet PDF: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=698

 

This I believe is some photos of the nest they have found in the UK: Asian Hornet Nest Found – Adopt A Hive

 

I doubt you'd want to be topping that tree while the nest is active!

[njtimber]

You ought to bump this thread occasionally to keep bringing it to people's attention. Thanks nick.

[GlobalNewark]

I'm spending a few days in Woodhall Spa in Lincs & yesterday whilst sat having a pint of cider something tried to carry it off, I guess it must have been a hornet. I've spent a day on and off googling, it was a good 1 1/2" in length, quite passive & there was no buzz at all which I thought you got from hornets? The only thing I cannot find anywhere is the fact it seemed very orange in its midriff.

 

It flew off & then returned but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo being too busy running away, definitely the largest I've ever seen.

[born2trot]

I'm spending a few days in Woodhall Spa in Lincs & yesterday whilst sat having a pint of cider something tried to carry it off, I guess it must have been a hornet. I've spent a day on and off googling, it was a good 1 1/2" in length, quite passive & there was no buzz at all which I thought you got from hornets? The only thing I cannot find anywhere is the fact it seemed very orange in its midriff.

 

It flew off & then returned but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo being too busy running away, definitely the largest I've ever seen.

 

They are not passive at all if you step out of line . ...

I got stung 3 times, once behind the ear and two on the knuckle of a finger . I can confirm it's definitely a buzz and more like getting an electric shock ( which is how they kill their prey ) than a sting . I reckon more than a dozen or so on the same area could be quite serious.Something i won't forget in a while

PS .. I noted that they fly straight rather than hover about so to speak ..

Edited October 1, 2016 by born2trot

[TGB]

Native hornets are fearsome creatures - the thought of more aggressive hornets, especially around hives scares the willies out of me. I scythe an orchard apiary and sometimes help care for a teaching apiary.

 

You have to annoy a bee/s to get stung. Wasps need much less provocation and hornets less again. Asian hornets...

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

You ought to bump this thread occasionally to keep bringing it to people's attention. Thanks nick.

 

Good OP and a good idea to keep it refreshed.

 

[Macpherson]

I'm spending a few days in Woodhall Spa in Lincs & yesterday whilst sat having a pint of cider something tried to carry it off, I guess it must have been a hornet. I've spent a day on and off googling, it was a good 1 1/2" in length, quite passive & there was no buzz at all which I thought you got from hornets? The only thing I cannot find anywhere is the fact it seemed very orange in its midriff.

 

It flew off & then returned but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo being too busy running away, definitely the largest I've ever seen.

 

If it was very orange it might have been a wood wasp

 

http:///www.flickr.com/photos/arkins/4799395181

[Logged On]

With winter / colder weather coming, what happens??

 

Do they hibernate or die off to a mere few (wasp do this don't they??), then breed again come spring time?

[Paul in the woods]

Yes, their life-cycle is the same as wasps. A mated queen will over winter somewhere warm and start a new colony in the spring. In late summer/autumn virgin queens will be raised that'll mate in autumn and overwinter again. The main nest will die off each year although it may be active quite late in the year if we don't get a cold snap.

 

I gather the Asian hornets are more susceptible to cold but in the south at least we've not had it that cold for a few years so I can see them surviving easily.

 

One thing I've noted bee keepers doing where Asian hornets have settled is make traps for the queens early in the season to catch as many before they form a nest.

[Logged On]

Might just start praying for that 4 months of snow / cold weather that was predicted on the internet a few days ago then.....