The Plague of the Asian Hornet: Preventing and Acting Early in the Season

As the beautiful days approach, so does the activity of hornets... From my perspective, Asian hornets can pose a serious threat to bees. They are known to attack beehives to feed on bees (a protein source), which can have devastating consequences on the colonies.

When I see the pressure of Asian hornets around my beehives, it drives me crazy!

We can observe Asian hornets catching bees in mid-flight and devouring them on a branch a little further away... It would take days spent around the hives to chase away these Asian hornets! It's endless!

Trapping the founding queens of Asian hornets early in the season is crucial to control their population.

This should help interrupt the reproduction cycle and reduce the number of Asian hornet colonies.

Indeed, founding queens are the key individuals initiating the reproduction cycle of Asian hornets. By trapping them in early spring, you can interrupt this cycle before it gains momentum.

Each founding queen is capable of creating a colony. By trapping these queens early on, you significantly decrease the number of potential new colonies that could develop throughout the season. Fewer colonies mean fewer hornets in the environment.

Asian hornets, especially their queens, are more vulnerable in early spring. At this stage, food resources are limited, making traps more appealing to queens in search of food.

Caution: use suitable traps to catch only Asian hornets and not other insects and bees that need to be preserved.

Conclusion

It appears that trapping the founding queens of Asian hornets early in the season is a proactive and effective measure to control their population, protect bees, reduce pressure on other insect species, even limit risks to humans, and maintain ecological balance. It's a preventive strategy that helps minimize problems related to the presence of Asian hornets throughout the season.

To your traps!