Hi All......are there any beekeepers out here on this site and has the topic of Asian Hornet been raised? I ask because we face a real threat to our honey bees and other polinators if the Asian Hornet (AH) get established in the UK. It could wipe out honey bees and then you would get no more of that lovely sticky sweet stuff to have on your cakes and breakfast. crops could fail because of lack of pollination and its not a nice beast to be stung by,
It is thought that the last outbreak in the summer in Woolacombe, devon could have be from a queen hornet brought into the UK from France or Spain in a camping unit Like a Caravan, motorhome or trailer tent.
We want to raise awareness of the problem through the camping and caravaning websites. We want owners of rigs to look out for the insect and kill any that get inside units or are found in units. And if you see a bid brownish wasp like insect fly out of your unit when you get bak to UK please get in touch with your local bee keeping association (GOOGLE BBKA) fo advice.
There is an app for mobiles which shows what you are looking for anf helps to report an occurence. I will post the link for it later. In the mean time you can go on Youtube to find lots of video clips to see what the hornet looks like.
Thanks and keep a look out!
Post last edited on 26/11/2017 08:49:59
------------- Trunkles
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Why is there always something just where I can bang my head on it?
Hopefully if this winter is as cold as some forcasters are predicting we won't have to worry about Asian hornets.
It seems to me the spread of this species northwards has more to do with the exceptionally mild winters not killing them off, as with the Harlequin Lady bird which is also devastating our local ladybirds
That's what we might hope Romany, but Spain and Portugal rarely get cold enough, they are good at overwintering in sheltered places they find to hibernate and short snaps of cold don't kill off every individual queen. That is exactly why they are good at spreading up through Europe.
Latitude is probably our best hope.....the scientists think that they will only get as far north as the scottish border, which is where our native hornet stops.
The trouble is that lots of motorhome owners live in the north of England and travel to southern Spain in the winter.
So don't give lifts to stranges insects, folks
------------- Trunkles
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Why is there always something just where I can bang my head on it?
When you consider the amount of Road Freight between the EU and as far away as Turkey etc the risk from motorhomes must be tiny in comparison.
The French have a site which gives a recipe to trap them.
saxo1
T&C's:
The above was taken from the internet... The poster rejects all responsibility of accuracy of facts, figures and fright related reactions from the reader!
The above post was produced purely out of duty.
No enjoyment nor pleasure was derived... in fact, I feel a little queasy now!!
Post last edited on 27/11/2017 12:13:41
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Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 27/11/2017
When you consider the amount of Road Freight between the EU and as far away as Turkey etc the risk from motorhomes must be tiny in comparison.
Quote: Originally posted by gedsjeep on 27/11/2017
Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 27/11/2017
When you consider the amount of Road Freight between the EU and as far away as Turkey etc the risk from motorhomes must be tiny in comparison.
plus.....
they can fly...
Yes they can fly up to 60k to find a new nest site so no trouble Calais to Dover, but as far as we know they haven't got to Kent yet by air
But then BATS can fly and they carry RABIES and that scares the S..T out of me too But believe me the authorities are taking precautions about rabies in bats. That's probably one of the reasons its illegal to handle bats without a licence!
------------- Trunkles
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Why is there always something just where I can bang my head on it?
Quote: Originally posted by gedsjeep on 27/11/2017
Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 27/11/2017
When you consider the amount of Road Freight between the EU and as far away as Turkey etc the risk from motorhomes must be tiny in comparison.
But its not just Motorhomes. It is Caravans and trailer tents and frame tents and cars and every vehicle..... and lorries aren't usually parked up in nice riverside and lakeside campsites with tall trees with hornets nest in them! That is their favorite habitat by the way
Yes Freight traffic is just on possible vector for these insects to be brought to the UK
I just want the camping caravan and motorhome community to have some awareness of the problem. Up till now it hasn't been appreciated that this group of travelers poses a serious risk of bringing V.v to this country......
And I bet this community loves it's honey ...... which will get more expensive or disappear if V.v gets a hold in the UK
------------- Trunkles
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Why is there always something just where I can bang my head on it?
The above articles are relating to two different species - the Asian Hornet & the Giant Asian Hornet, luckily, no sign of the Giant Asian Hornet, had a bit of a scare earlier this year, when a possible sighting of AH was reported in Tilbury, but on investigation it was the EH
Indeed. If Trunkles fears rabies, then don't handlle bats without wearing thick gloves like bat workers do (when were any of us that close to a bat?) and also get a course of rabies vaccine like liscenced bat workers have to do. It's just some jags after all. And bats don't all carry rabies, any more than dogs do. And they don't attack people! Methinks Trunkles has been watching too many vampire films.