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.
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.
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. 
One of our bee inspectors advises that she has spent the best part of September in England chasing Asian hornets and the monitoring going on by the public has been variable. The only chance of preventing them from becoming a huge problem is to stop them early.
This is a link to the NBU Asian hornet trap
https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadNews.cfm%3Fid%3D122&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiB6r7BxNrdAhUGRBoKHfLMDwMQFjAAegQIBRAC&usg=AOvVaw3OJJgtczld3fdegpUk6fy6
Note that Asian hornets are apparently quite hard to ID when they’ve been in a trap for a while, so people need to have a good look.
https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm%3Fid%3D1111&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjfwNSnx9rdAhWozoUKHRryAW0QFjABegQIChAC&usg=AOvVaw24hja23fncO753eEKcMrEO
The most Asian Hornets have been seen on ivy and other forage, picking off flys and other insects (as this is easier than hawking in front of a hive) so if everyone could spend half an hour every so often watching some forage there’s a chance of spotting them if they’re here.
If anyone does spot something suspect then THEY NEED TO TAKE A PHOTO OR CATCH ONE AND PUT IT IN ALCOHOL OR THE FREEZER. The bee unit and non-native species have had over 4000 reports of Asian hornets that are actually something else (one was a cockroach!) people can also download the Asian hornet app, which has ID info and you can report sightings.
