As if I don't have enough to think about. . .

[David Stokely]

Just coming to terms with the shb (small hive beetle) being able to come this far north and survive, I was scanning The Drudge Report and ran across this article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6049302/Tourists-warned-as-Asian-hornets-terrorise-French.html

Kind of interesting reading. . . Asian hornets terrorizing and stinging the beejeebers out of tourists. . .OK, another reason not to visit France, but then almost to the bottom of the article you read these stunning words:

Besides the risk to humans, the hornets have decimated France's already dwindling bee population.

Squadrons of the insects hover over hives and pick off hapless honeybees in mid-air. a handful can destroy a nest of 30,000 bees in just a couple of hours.

In Asia, honeybees form a ball of workers around the intruder and kill it by heatstroke. But in France, the technique appears to have no effect.

Beekeepers suspect that the creatures are also massacring other indigenous insect species. "Nobody can say what damage the Asian hornet has done outside of our hives. What is certain is that last autumn there were less insects than before," said Richard Legrand, a keeper in Bergerac.

I am laughing, but maybe with a not so small tinge of hysteria. . .My Goodness. . . what else do we have to look forward to  in beekeeping. . .

:? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?

[beecanbee]

Here in Japan - where the large hornets abound, one starts defense in early spring by leaving an empty hive with a few frames of honey to attract the hornet queens.  Only the queens over-winter, so if you can capture a queen you save yourself needing to capture or kill hundreds come autumn.

In summer and autumn - we use nets that are draped over the hives - with large enough openings to allow honeybees to pass, but not hornets.

For my log hives - I have bought gutter leaf guard at the hardware stores in the US.  This is flexible, durrable, and keeps the hornets out if tacked over the hive entrance. 

One must leave sufficient space behind each of these methods to allow the foragers to fly to the barrier, and crawl thru.  This spreads the opening, and prevents a group of hornets from taking all of the forragers.

Finally - there is nothing that sounds better than a hornet connecting with a backhand swing of my wide paint scraper which is otherwise employed in hive cleaning.   :)

[David Stokely]

Finally - there is nothing that sounds better than a hornet connecting with a backhand swing of my wide paint scraper which is otherwise employed in hive cleaning.

I like that.  I'm still laughing. . .probably sounds as good as solidly connecting with a baseball hard to the home run fence with a good old ash bat. . .

I had never heard of these hornets until today. . .good grief. . .the article says they decimate all sorts of other insects. . . Can we be lucky enough that they might like SHB or maybe have a particular passion for Africanized bees????

I kind of doubt it.  They'll probably be death on swallowtail butterflies or lightning bugs, or something else equally beautiful.

[beecanbee]

Annother technique - remembering that hornets are carnivorous - is to net one and release it onto a sticky-paper rat trap, and to place that paper a short distance from your hives.  It will attract more and they will get stuck.  Once full, discard.  This is not a good option for the fair minded as it can easily wipe them out if used widely - and surely even hornets have benefits for the environment.

One should not place this sticky paper where birds will see it, as they too will get stuck - so I put it under a board that I have propped up.

And finally - for a few - if you net or clobber them, and cover them in a clear liquor in a quart jar for a few weeks (I am told)  ;) that you have a fairly good alternative to that little blue pill...

[fish_stix]

Sounds like a clearly superior alternative: you can't drink after taking that little blue pill!  :evil:

[David LaFerney]

surely even hornets have benefits for the environment.

Absolutely true, but we already have native hornets.  I for one wouldn't feel too bad about decimating the population of yet another invasive exotic species.

Thanks for the information, it's good to know that if Asian hornets do show up here we will be able to benefit from your experience with dealing with them. 

[NasalSponge]

If you go to Youtube and search for hornets vs bees there are several interesting vids on it.

[beecanbee]

surely even hornets have benefits for the environment.

I for one wouldn't feel too bad about decimating the population of yet another invasive exotic species.

Using the sticky paper here - where these hornets are native is so effective that it can get me thrown out of my local beekeeper`s association.  So I use this technique sparingly and only where the hornets are really strong, and then stop as they fall off a bit.

[Cheryl]

This is all very interesting. I will remember these methods, for if I ever need them.

[fermentedhiker]

beecanbee, do you keep strictly Apis mellifera or do you also maintain hives of Apis Cerana?  If both do you take the same precautions in protecting the Apis c?

[beecanbee]

do you take the same precautions in protecting the Apis c?

I am new to A. Mellifera - since spring of this year, and have not seen any of the hornets near these hives.  Good chance that there are not a lot of the giant hornets nearby.

My main bee is cerana, and the techniques I describe are from experience there.  The netting and the gutter guard might be an issue for mellifera - but the sticky paper, catching the hornet queen, and a good backhand would of course be the same.   If I encounter the hornets attacking my mellifera ladies, I will give it a test and report back. 

I have one more technique, not yet described - I take a live rat trap (welded wire cage) and cut it in half the long way - so have two half boxes.  These can be used in place of the gutter guard and provides a bit wider gap for my bees, but is still restrictive enough to keep the hornets at bay.  The gutter guard may be too small for mellifera, and particularly for the drones.

[fermentedhiker]

interesting.  From what I had read I thought cerana was able to cope with the hornets by balling the scouts so the hornets never came to the hive in force because their scout never returned to bring them back.  Although I can see how having a lot of hive in an apiary would make it easier for the hornets to locate.  Hopefully we won't have to deal with those hornets over here or at least not for a long long time.

[beecanbee]

From what I had read I thought cerana was able to cope with the hornets by balling the scouts so the hornets never came to the hive in force because their scout never returned to bring them back. 

That is generally true - but the hornets will win out if there are lots of them, or if the hive is weak.  Once a few hornets get inside they can easily ravage the hive.  One or two flying around and taking an occasional bite - no worries, but 10 to 15, or more camped out at the entrance - and actually enlarging it by nibbling away at the wood, is too much for the balling technique to overcome.  Plus when they are at the entrance, my ladies are stuck inside playing defense, and not out foraging for their (and my) honey.