Hornets
Giant Asian Hornet
The first nest of Asian giant hornets found in the US has successfully been destroyed by scientists.
The nest, in the state of Washington, was found by putting tracker devices on the hornets and it was sucked out of a tree using a vacuum hose.
The invasive species insects, known as “murder hornets”, have a powerful sting and can spit venom.
They target honeybees, which pollinate crops, and can destroy a colony in just a matter of hours.
See the BBC News link.
Asian Hornet – the story so far! Webinar on Sep 10, 2020 at 7:30 PM
During what has been designated Asian Hornet week, WBKA are pleased to bring you this presentation by Frank Gellatly. Frank will be well known to many of you as the Wales Regional Bee Inspector. He has considerable front line experience in the battle against the Asian Hornet which, since its arrival in the UK, has caused much concern. It is vitally important that we all remain alert to help in the fight against this threat to our bees. Frank’s presentation will cover Asian Hornet identification, the Asian Hornet in France, incursions into England, the response including track and trace, the Jersey experience, and the future, including AH teams in Wales.
Registration for this webinar is open to all beekeepers and, as usual, we will begin with a short, general Q&A session. Send your advance questions by email to l&d@wbka.com
We are interested to know how widely our webinars are viewed and so would appreciate you answering a couple of questions when registering for the event.
Links to recordings of our previous webinars can be found on the Welsh Beekeepers’ Association website www.wbka.com.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Asian Hornet alert!
We have received a request from the National Bee Unit to ask everyone to keep an eye open for the Asian Hornet.
A nest was recently found near Tamworth, and it’s around this time of year that people start seeing the workers. It has been found that they don’t hawk outside hives that often and the best place to see them is on ivy flowers or fallen fruit. If you could please spend 20 minutes/ half an hour looking at a nice sunny patch of ivy it would be very helpful. If you do see anything, then please let us know so we can advise the Bee Inspector. A photo / sample would also help greatly with positive identification.
PBKA Asian Hornet Coordinator
We would like to remind all beekeepers of the importance to monitor for the Asian Hornet, as early discovery may be the only opportunity we have of preventing them from becoming a major problem. Details about the Asian Hornet can be obtained at NBU link and there is also information available on an NBU Asian hornet trap . If anyone does spot something suspect, then they should take a photo, or catch one and put it in alcohol or the freezer and report it immediately.
To assist in this process, the PBKA has appointed an Asian Hornet Coordinator, Peter Kirkup, to coordinate information and guidance relating to possible sightings. Peter can be contacted on 07770 883720. 
