The Asian Hornet: A talk by Anne Rowberry.
Anne Rowberry is the current President of the BBKA. On Friday 09 February at Eynsham Village Hall she gave Oxfordshire Beekeepers Association members’ a talk on the Asian Hornet.
We are clearly moving from ‘if they become established in the uk…’ to ‘when they become established…’. The significant increase in the number of nests found in 2023 (see left) increases the chance of fertile queens surviving winter and starting new colonies in the Spring.
Anne’s talk was fascinating and was able to bring us up-to-date on the situation regarding the AH.
We won’t go into the details on Anne’s talk here (as, well, if you want to know what is said at the talks we would encourage you to attend) but rather focus on what we need to be doing as beekeepers in Oxfordshire to prepare for the arrival of the Asian Hornet.
Actions for OBKA Members
We can all play our part by having a trap in place and knowing the reporting procedure. There was a good take up of traps at 20% discount on Friday but we still have some available, contact treasurer@obka.org.uk and if there is demand we can order more.
We also need to get in place sufficient people to support Eric, our AHT Coordinator, ahat@obka.org.uk, to respond to sightings and undertake tracing. To this end OBKA have an Asian Hornet team of volunteers coordinated by Eric Perkins. The team members are dedicated to work with the NBU to combat the arrival of the Asian Hornet within our area to help protect local beekeepers. This important work includes
- Raising public awareness of the threat of the Asian Hornet
- Monitoring and trapping Asian Hornets in our area.
- Following up leads provided of sightings of Asian Hornets.
- Supporting the NBU in our area in the event of a contingency response, I.e. when a sighting has been confirmed and action needs to be taken to find and destroy a nest.
- Post contingency support to the NBU once a nest has been destroyed in our area.
If you would like more details of what is involved or are willing to volunteer to be part of this team please contact Eric Perkins at ahat@obka.org.uk
Know your enemy
Anne had a collection of AH’s and the European Hornet as it is important that we can all tell the difference:
BBKA Asian Hornet Conference Saturday 17th February 2024
Please find below details of a BBKA Asian Hornet conference next week that will set the scene for those who may be interested. Although zoom call places are limited there will be a live stream on YouTube.
Confirmed speakers:
Nigel Semmence: ‘An Update from the NBU
Martin Smith; eR2 Project Manager: ‘Communication is the key’
Kirsteen Thorne; BBKA Outreach Officer
Alastair Christie: ‘An update on Jersey and what BBKA could learn from the Jersey Experience’
An update from Kent.
Credits:
Photos: Fiona Gibson, OBKA Membership Secretary
Words: Yvonne Parks, OBKA Membership Secretary