Bee Number 11

The Asian Hornet: Exotica and commercial solutions

There are a number of more exotic defences available; such as the ‘harpe electrique’, which is surprisingly effective, or chickens, that have been taught to regard hornets as food. I have considered the resident flock of pheasants in my garden in such a role but dismissed the idea.

The ‘harpe electrique’ is worth serious consideration. Its ‘catch rate’ of up to 1,200 hornets in a fortnight is impressive and beekeepers using them have reported significant reductions in predation. The ‘harpe’ should be deployed across the observed flight-path of the hornets e.g. flying between their nest and the apiary, between the hives, or to intercept patrolling hornets flying along the rear of a line of hives. Hornets flying into the electrified wires are stunned and fall into a water bath placed under the ‘harpe’.

The ‘harpe’ or grid may be homemade to one of the designs available on-line and comprises fine stainless-steel wires stretched across a frame. The grid is then connected to a high voltage energizer, powered from a battery or the mains supply. The essential point to note is that while the energizer need not be particularly powerful in term of joules, the pulse needs to be near continuous and that rules out normal electric fence energizers.

The two commercial solutions currently being advertised by beekeeping suppliers are the Vita Europe Apishield and the Veto Pharma hornet trap. I will cover the Apishield in more detail in the section on hive defences.

The Veto-Pharma Hornet Trap

This has seen a recent drop in the price from £28 for two traps to £6 each (EH Thorne (Beehives) Ltd). Based on the tests by the Institut Technique et Scientifique de l’Abeille et de la Pollinisation (ITSAP) the Veto Pharma hornet trap is of great interest, although I wish it had a larger capacity. It is reported to be three times more effective than the ‘piege artisanal’. However, in the ITSAP tests (available on the Veto Pharma website and from ITSAP) it was noted that the special Veto Pharma bait also catches bees and the European hornet, V. crabro.

Notwithstanding that the trap cannot be considered to be a selective trap, as there is no escape for non-target species, I consider it to be too effective to leave out of the armoury, but the timing of its use and its placement needs to be carefully considered. I would use it at times of high predation when the bees are not flying and place the traps between or behind hives i.e. in areas where the bees do not habitually fly. Although Veto Pharma recommends two traps per five hives, the ITSAP recommendation is that traps in the apiary should be in the ratio of one trap per two hives with an increase on that number at times of high predation.

Later in this series we will be looking at the period from late August onwards when the hornet’s predation reaches its peak and we will look at the defence of the hive. We will consider some of the wider issues and other traps/commercial solutions. I will suggest what our overall strategy should be and I will summarise the actions to be taken.