Hello everyone,
I have joined this forum with a cause in mind. I keep bees and live in Torbay where I am on the committee of Torbay Bee keepers Association. I am also working with a Devon group of bee keepers who are forming teams of like minded apiarists who are going to be the first line of defense in Devon against the invasion of Asian Hornet that could come to the UK any time next year
Are there any beekeepers on this site and has the topic of Asian Hornet been raised? I ask because although bee keepers will know of the danger we face a real threat to our honey bees and other pollinators if the Asian Hornet (AH) gets established in the UK. It could wipe out honey bees and then you would get no more of that lovely sticky sweet stuff to have on your cakes and breakfast. crops could fail because of lack of pollination and its not a nice beast to be stung by. When I searched other camping websites it seemed campers in general were not aware of a problem!
It is thought that the last outbreak in the summer of 2017 in Woolacombe, Devon could have been from a queen hornet brought into the UK from France or Spain in a camping unit Like a Caravan, motorhome or trailer tent.
I am a motorhome owner and last January we went for a two month trip to the Algarve. On our journey down through Franch we saw two or three Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina V.v) nests high in trees. We knew what they were but since it was winter we knew they were effectively dead because the colony dies out when the new queens fly off to find hibernation quarters. But we never dreamed that we could provide a lift to such an unwanted and devastating pest.
It turns out that caravans, motorhomes and trailer tents have nice cosy spaces where insects can hibernate and the of course owners drive home to th UK for the start of spring and the insects find themselves in a new country and in the case of Vespa velutina lots of honey bee hives to provide their food because The UK has lots of bee keepers to provide the honey that we all like.
It is thought that the outbreak in Woolacombe, Devon was just such an instance of a V.v queen coming in a caravan. The owners of the property where the nest was found owned a caravan and had come back fron southern France where the hornet is endemic. They apologised to the bee keeper whose hives were being raided for having the nest in their hedge.
Asian Hornets devastate honey bee colonies by hawking round the entrance of the hive and taking bees on the wing. They bit the head and abdomen off and fly away to their nest with the thorax where they feed the larvae with the protein from the muscles that control the bee's wings and legs
We want to raise awareness of the problem through the camping and caravaning websites. We want owners of rigs to look out for the insect and kill any that get inside units or are found in units. And if you see a bid brownish wasp like insect fly out of your unit when you get bak to UK please get in touch with your local bee keeping association (GOOGLE BBKA) for advice.
There is an app for mobiles which shows what you are looking for and enables you to report an occurrence to the appropriate authorities like the National Bee Unit and the Non Native Species Secretariat. You can find the App (called Asian Hornet App) on Google Play and on the Android app site or if you google 'Asian Hornet Watch'.
In the mean time you can go on Youtube to find lots of video clips to see what the hornet looks like.
Thanks and keep a look out!
I have joined this forum with a cause in mind. I keep bees and live in Torbay where I am on the committee of Torbay Bee keepers Association. I am also working with a Devon group of bee keepers who are forming teams of like minded apiarists who are going to be the first line of defense in Devon against the invasion of Asian Hornet that could come to the UK any time next year
Are there any beekeepers on this site and has the topic of Asian Hornet been raised? I ask because although bee keepers will know of the danger we face a real threat to our honey bees and other pollinators if the Asian Hornet (AH) gets established in the UK. It could wipe out honey bees and then you would get no more of that lovely sticky sweet stuff to have on your cakes and breakfast. crops could fail because of lack of pollination and its not a nice beast to be stung by. When I searched other camping websites it seemed campers in general were not aware of a problem!
It is thought that the last outbreak in the summer of 2017 in Woolacombe, Devon could have been from a queen hornet brought into the UK from France or Spain in a camping unit Like a Caravan, motorhome or trailer tent.
I am a motorhome owner and last January we went for a two month trip to the Algarve. On our journey down through Franch we saw two or three Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina V.v) nests high in trees. We knew what they were but since it was winter we knew they were effectively dead because the colony dies out when the new queens fly off to find hibernation quarters. But we never dreamed that we could provide a lift to such an unwanted and devastating pest.
It turns out that caravans, motorhomes and trailer tents have nice cosy spaces where insects can hibernate and the of course owners drive home to th UK for the start of spring and the insects find themselves in a new country and in the case of Vespa velutina lots of honey bee hives to provide their food because The UK has lots of bee keepers to provide the honey that we all like.
It is thought that the outbreak in Woolacombe, Devon was just such an instance of a V.v queen coming in a caravan. The owners of the property where the nest was found owned a caravan and had come back fron southern France where the hornet is endemic. They apologised to the bee keeper whose hives were being raided for having the nest in their hedge.
Asian Hornets devastate honey bee colonies by hawking round the entrance of the hive and taking bees on the wing. They bit the head and abdomen off and fly away to their nest with the thorax where they feed the larvae with the protein from the muscles that control the bee's wings and legs
We want to raise awareness of the problem through the camping and caravaning websites. We want owners of rigs to look out for the insect and kill any that get inside units or are found in units. And if you see a bid brownish wasp like insect fly out of your unit when you get bak to UK please get in touch with your local bee keeping association (GOOGLE BBKA) for advice.
There is an app for mobiles which shows what you are looking for and enables you to report an occurrence to the appropriate authorities like the National Bee Unit and the Non Native Species Secretariat. You can find the App (called Asian Hornet App) on Google Play and on the Android app site or if you google 'Asian Hornet Watch'.
In the mean time you can go on Youtube to find lots of video clips to see what the hornet looks like.
Thanks and keep a look out!
Just the sort of places , Spinner, a queen Asian Hornet would find to hide away for the winter....unfortunately UK border force are not looking for stowaway hornets! So its up to the owners of camping units to exercise some care in how they prepare for travel back to UK to minimize the risk of bringing back an unwanted pest, and then when back home making sure the unit is cleaned down properly in case there is a stowaway. I think probably using a good insecticidal spray in cupboards, lockers, and nooks and crannies would be effective, and there is nothing like keeping a sharp eye out for anything that flies out of the van. If its biggish, black or brown, and looks like a big wasp then a warning to your local bee keeping association will at least alert them to the possibility of a colony forming in the locality so that apiarists will keep a watch for worker hornets during the coming season.
Information on how to report sightings can be found on the Asian Hornet App which can itself be found by googling
Its important to remember it is time of year that matters..... they wont be likely to enter you van late spring or summer. new queens are produced in autumn and generally mate with the males before looking for hibernation places. In early spring flying queens will be fertile and looking for places to build initial nests.....they might then get into units. If they do it should become obvious as the workers start to multiply and you will see them going to and from the unit. In that case do not attempt to detry the nest yourself. Leave it to experts. It would be good , however if you can catch one or two (a child's fishing net can be used to scoop them out of the air) and put them into a jar (place the sealed jar in a freezer to kill them humanely) so they can be sent for positive ID as V. velutina. If you get a positive identification then the National Bee Unit will arrange for someone to come and deal with them. If you don't want to catch them yourself then call your local Bee Keeping Association, which you can find by googling 'bee keeping' or some such search term. If you have a camera you may be able to get some shots of them flying in and out but take care because their sting is very powerful!
Bee vigilant
Information on how to report sightings can be found on the Asian Hornet App which can itself be found by googling
Its important to remember it is time of year that matters..... they wont be likely to enter you van late spring or summer. new queens are produced in autumn and generally mate with the males before looking for hibernation places. In early spring flying queens will be fertile and looking for places to build initial nests.....they might then get into units. If they do it should become obvious as the workers start to multiply and you will see them going to and from the unit. In that case do not attempt to detry the nest yourself. Leave it to experts. It would be good , however if you can catch one or two (a child's fishing net can be used to scoop them out of the air) and put them into a jar (place the sealed jar in a freezer to kill them humanely) so they can be sent for positive ID as V. velutina. If you get a positive identification then the National Bee Unit will arrange for someone to come and deal with them. If you don't want to catch them yourself then call your local Bee Keeping Association, which you can find by googling 'bee keeping' or some such search term. If you have a camera you may be able to get some shots of them flying in and out but take care because their sting is very powerful!
Bee vigilant
Thanks for the heads up on this one Trunkles we have often laughed about transporting creatures around Europe but reading this has made me realise I should be more aware, is it worth having a spray around nooks and crannies and if so what would you advise is worth a try. oh and welcome to CM -- oops this is an edit should have read the second post more carefully
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Nothing to do with Bees (sorry) But could you all check for the invasive Harlequin ladybird,
(Multi coloured and many spots)
That are responsible for the decline in our native 7 and 2 spot ladybirds,
If finding a Harliquin (only needs slight pressure by ones foot to crush) Thanks,
(Multi coloured and many spots)
That are responsible for the decline in our native 7 and 2 spot ladybirds,
If finding a Harliquin (only needs slight pressure by ones foot to crush) Thanks,
I'll help with your Harlequin Ladybirds if you will help with my Asian Hornets
Have you see any water primrose, quagga muscles, carpet sea squirts, killer shrimps.....and a few others? have a look at:
http://www.nonnativespecies.org/home/index.cfm.
Great site for anybody interested
Have you see any water primrose, quagga muscles, carpet sea squirts, killer shrimps.....and a few others? have a look at:
http://www.nonnativespecies.org/home/index.cfm.
Great site for anybody interested
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On your case of Asian Hornet spotting
The Harliquin's I'm afraid do need to be nailed also,
But I think they could have got a bit to common over here now ,
(like the Grey squirrel making our native Red deplete)
I think the Harliquin will finally wipe out our 7 and 2 Spot Ladybird
The Harliquin's I'm afraid do need to be nailed also,
But I think they could have got a bit to common over here now ,
(like the Grey squirrel making our native Red deplete)
I think the Harliquin will finally wipe out our 7 and 2 Spot Ladybird
Seems we are fighting more and more invaders ... we have had to clear the brooks of Japanese knotweed and Giant hogweed is popping up all over the place ... we had to spray at first but now it's just walk the brooks and ponds to keep watch ... Floating pennywort is also a pain
The Hogweed is the one I really don't like as I had sever blistering because I did not handle it correctly due to lack of info on it ... know better now
You can find lots of info on here .... http://www.nonnativespecies.org/factsheet/index.cfm
The Hogweed is the one I really don't like as I had sever blistering because I did not handle it correctly due to lack of info on it ... know better now
You can find lots of info on here .... http://www.nonnativespecies.org/factsheet/index.cfm
Kathy and Max dog
“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment to animals.”
“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment to animals.”
Hello, we are beekeepers and as of last Friday also Motorhomers (yippee, cant wait to use it). We have twice had nests of Asian Hornets in and around our house in the Dordogne which we had destroyed, they are reasonably common there, and everything you say is true. I think it is almost impossible to identify whether a nest high up a tree is of Asian or common European hornets because they fly in and out at high level and high speed. We had this earlier this year in France and couldn't determine whether Asian or European, even through binoculars.
Since there is a possibility of them coming here in MHs or caravans, your call for folk to watch for these things is excellent. Please everyone destroy anything you find that you find that you don't recognise (long horn beetle's another example) as being indigenous because in the longer term these things can cause serious problems, exactly as our friend describes.
Since there is a possibility of them coming here in MHs or caravans, your call for folk to watch for these things is excellent. Please everyone destroy anything you find that you find that you don't recognise (long horn beetle's another example) as being indigenous because in the longer term these things can cause serious problems, exactly as our friend describes.
Steve, you wrote " I think it is almost impossible to identify whether a nest high up a tree is of Asian or common European hornets because they fly in and out at high level and high speed."
From my reading about V.v and V.c it seems Asian Hornet is the one that builds secondary nests high in trees. European hornets build in holes in trees. If I am right its because V.v can build an enclosed nest with a small entrance hole in the side, and V.c. , the European, build a nest with an open bottom with cell gallries exposed from below. Thus it need the extra protection of being inside a cavity in a tree, or sometimes buildings and holes in rock formations.
Veltins, the Asian hornet , will build its primary nest low in hedges and buildings but will move out to build its secondary nest higher in a tree.
SO if you see a nest high in a tree it is likely to be Asian Hornet.......if we can just get that across to the public in the UK and get them to report such a sighting it will help in the fight against V.v becoming established in the uk.
From my reading about V.v and V.c it seems Asian Hornet is the one that builds secondary nests high in trees. European hornets build in holes in trees. If I am right its because V.v can build an enclosed nest with a small entrance hole in the side, and V.c. , the European, build a nest with an open bottom with cell gallries exposed from below. Thus it need the extra protection of being inside a cavity in a tree, or sometimes buildings and holes in rock formations.
Veltins, the Asian hornet , will build its primary nest low in hedges and buildings but will move out to build its secondary nest higher in a tree.
SO if you see a nest high in a tree it is likely to be Asian Hornet.......if we can just get that across to the public in the UK and get them to report such a sighting it will help in the fight against V.v becoming established in the uk.
Hi Trunckles, you make a good clarification, the 'nest' I was talking about high in a tree was probably European hornets because it was in a hole in the tree, not an exterior built nest like the one in this link https://youtu.be/Bpj3rsJ2b94?t=42 and also like this in a hedge. https://youtu.be/0iwRqQeV_O4?t=147
The British public will start to really take notice when they start having to pay £70-£100 to destroy nests on their property, which is what I had to do twice in the last 2 years in the Dordogne.
Incidentally, the guy in the second link is he who I paid to destroy the second nest.....a very amusing man!!
The British public will start to really take notice when they start having to pay £70-£100 to destroy nests on their property, which is what I had to do twice in the last 2 years in the Dordogne.
Incidentally, the guy in the second link is he who I paid to destroy the second nest.....a very amusing man!!
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