The Asian Hornet: Devon News

摘要

As the summer and the beekeeping season slowly winds down into Autumn, the confirmed sightings of Asian hornets start to increase. Why we are more inclined to see them now is a bit of a mystery. Possibly it is because the nests have reached their maximum population and maybe their feeding habits are changing as they move from producing workers to producing males and then queens, which may bring them into closer contact with us. As I am writing this on October 12th, I have just received news of another confirmed nest. The tally for this year so far is:3rd July New Milton, Hampshire Single hornet found,2nd September, Tamworth, Staffordshire,Nest destroyed. Vespa vi,9th September, Ashford, Kent Single hornet found,1st October, Christchurch, Dorset - Nest destroyed 11th October, Christchurch, Dorset - Nest destroyed.This is less than the nine confirmed sightings of last year and does not follow the trend we were expecting, but do not be lulled into a false sense of security. This year may be a blip. We cannot afford to become complacent. The threat to our bees and the wider environment is still very real and should not be ignored. We are seeing a developing concentration of sightings around the Dorset/Hampshire area: Poole and Brockenhurst last year and the Christchurch and New Milton sightings this year. Does thisindicate a population establishing itself or the danger of Asian hornets coming inthrough a busy porti' We will know more when the DNA analysis has been carried out.