Asian hornets in Tetbury
Looks like it has finally happened
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/20/threat-honeybees-asian-hornet-arrival-uk-confirmed-defra-invasive-species
And here is the official press release .....
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a...loucestershire
Last edited by gavin; 20-09-2016 at 02:13 PM.
Yep....got a direct email this morning Gavin.
Its a mere 13 miles as the crow flies from my bees near Cirencester and Swindon.
Not going to over react though, as in much of France, particular pockets aside, its serious nuisance rather than a disaster. Will see what unfolds over the seasons to come. Will be quite a while before it builds up to something major, if ever.
That's worrying (for you).Originally Posted by Calluna4u
This paper has maps with predictions based on climate data that seem reassuring for Scotland. However I've been a scientist long enough to know that the value of predictive modelling can be ... well, not as great as it seems at the time. It isn't always climate that matters but - for a free living social hornet - climate possibly is king.
http://www.nev.nl/pages/publicaties/...s/22/39-46.pdf
It is said that perhaps the biggest issue with it is that the presence of the hornet causes colonies to shut down foraging - hence it may strongly depress honey yields.
G.
Last edited by gavin; 20-09-2016 at 04:23 PM.
OK Im no scientist either, but one Hornet is not a plague, how did it arrive and will it survive.Did I read here or somewhere else a beekeeper had a problem eating with his dog eating his honey bees he equated this to a loss in honey production and had the dog put down, when asked how many bees the dog was eating a week he guesstimated 30.???
Asian hornet in Gloucestershire ... disappointing but perhaps inevitable news.
I may never notice if it arrives in Fife ...
Not greatly worried. What will be will be. Not going to be losing any sleep over it any time soon and in the end a problem presents challenges that filter out those who cannot or choose not to cope with it.
Its terribly easy to get over stressed and there are plenty out there who like ratchetting up the worry levels.
As for the reduced honey crop. The percentage reduction from approx. zero in that area this year does not cause issues lol.....but most years its a good area.
Tetbury is much further North and West than I'd have expected landfall ... I wouldn't be at all surprised to find additional sites closer to the South coast and/or in Kent. I'm assuming it/they/she arrived self-propelled on predominantly southerly winds.
I've skim-read the paper on climate modelling (thanks Gavin) ... Figure 3 is somewhat less than reassuring (where they match climatic regions with an area - Limoges - where the hornet is already established in France) but the rest looks OK for us North of the border ... remembering of course that modelling is an informed prediction (or 'often wrong' as some scientists say).
Perhaps we should all hope for a really brutal winter.
It is said that long distance movement could be by natural dispersal or man-assisted via hitchhiking, the horticultural trade, or the timber trade as it can hibernate under bark.
Given that a worker was detected in Tetbury it seems very likely that at least one queen has established a nest in the area. Bad news as, by this time of the year, sexual forms may well be dispersing.
Surly if a queen has established there would be more than one male, if he is the only one and there are lots of females lurking in the woods he is going to be a busy boy.
Maybe he is sterile like all the drones that are flying around Cork here in Ireland.
Time to lock up the children this guy can swallow wood and move buckets .http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...n-cousins.html Since yea are no longer in Europe there will be no grants to help you get rid of the invasion, your on your own.
Here is last night's post on http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/public/News/news.cfm#176
September 2016 - Asian hornet nest found and destroyed
An Asian hornet nest (image 1) has been located and destroyed by experts in the Tetbury area. The nest (image 2) was found at the top of a 55 foot tall conifer tree (image 3). Inspectors from the National Bee Unit are continuing to monitor the area for Asian hornets alongside local beekeepers. However to date, no live hornets have been seen since the nest was removed.
We urge anyone to report suspect Asian hornet sightings to alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.
Further guidance on the Asian hornet can be found on the Asian hornet pages of Beebase where you will find a very useful Asian hornet ID sheet sheet and Asian hornet poster which is available for identification purposes.
With the images:
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