Looking forward to the start of the season
It’s a new year, with new hopes and new problems. I hope your bees are still doing well. This is the time of year when the queens start to lay again and the honey consumption starts to increase. For the first half of winter, there is normally little or no brood and few bees to feed, however as we move into late Feb/March there is an increased risk of starvation. So heft your hives regularly and be ready to feed fondant if they are light.
Asian Hornets
Unless you have been clustered with your bees for the last few months, I’m sure you are aware of the increased risk from the invasive Asian Hornet (AH). Although the risk they pose is to all our pollinating insects, inevitably we beekeepers are in the vanguard to find and repel them.
The first priority is to discover if they are here.
They can pop up anywhere in the country, as they are often transported in by accident. Areas near ports are particularly likely to find AH that have hitch-hiked in. So we need as many monitoring stations deployed as possible, starting now. We need to check the monitoring (bait) stations regularly, several times a day if possible, so set them where you can see them at work or at home. If you see an AH on the bait, take a photo and report it. Even better, pop a container over it and put it in the freezer to kill it. Hornets spotted early in the year will be foundress queens and we can save ourselves a lot of trouble later if we kill them in spring.
Install the Asian Hornet Watch app (available free for iPhone and Android) and use it to make the report.
If you wish to monitor somewhere a bit more remote, that you visit less frequently, you could deploy a highly selective, non-killing trap such as the Gard’Apis. This will ensure we do not capture native species. They should still be inspected as often as practical, and any trapped AH must be killed by putting the whole trap in the freezer.
Once a report is made in Suffolk the NBU will call the Asian Hornet Team (AHT) leader, Jane Corcoran (who gave us an excellent talk at the AGM), who will in turn, call one of our team members to confirm the sighting. If found positive, the NBU will arrive to find and destroy the nest.
Monitor and Tell Everyone
That is our task at the moment. It is too early to be fitting defences to our hives, just keep your eye out and inform the general public to increase the chances of finding any AH in the area. Put up posters, write articles in village magazines, give talks to farmers, gardening groups etc. Spread the word to anyone who will listen.
Asian Hornet Watch App:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.ac.ceh.hornets&pcampaignid=web_share
iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/asian-hornet-watch/id1161238813
NBU: https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/diseases-and-pests/asian-hornet/#
BBKA: https://www.bbka.org.uk/pages/category/asian-hornet-resources