Bees & Swarming --- It is that time of the year again

It IS hilarious

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Heard this podcast today and thought of this thread - although not as funny as Slammer’s!

we have a new actor on our ā€˜game of thrones’ series (see previous postings above). For those who like Tolkien, it would be a Ramsay Bolton - Wikipedia – I apologize, I do not like that type of scifi, but the description looks pretty accurate - aggressive, vicious, sadist. And that is the description of the invasive species, the Asiatic Hornet.

Now that nature resources have declined, the hornets are turning to obtaining ’ easy protein’. And the easy protein is…our bees. These hornets are truly diabolic. They hawk over the entrance of the hive…and, as a bee takes off to look for nectar, one of the hornets captures the bee on flight, and decapitates it - in front of the hive entrance, freaking out the other bees, who, then, do not dare to take off.

We have been using the XiX century ā€˜non invasive’ methods suggested by the association of beekeepers, to locate the hives of the hornets --usually hidden up to 20m among the foliage of the trees. As expected, to no avail.

Enough is enough. This is war. I have decided to move the technology to the XXI century. So, as of next week, RFID, drones and antenas are going to be on the game. And militar equipment if required (heat cameras, that is). No mercy. They don’t know with whom they are playing…

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I thought I had posted it here, but I can’t find it…I saw a story about a guy who travels all over DE eradicating Asian hornet nests. He uses a decoy drone to draw the attention/attack of the hive up in a tree, assembles a ladder team on the ground meanwhile. They ascend the ladders and spray a cloud of diatomaceous earth, gumming up the hornet works. The hornets drop into nets spread on the ground, where they are rounded up and either studied or eliminated or both, I forget which.

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Go Startrek on their pointy asses.

Get it set to ā€œHornetā€ and fire.

What about those bastardos (yellowjackets) that sneak up under the table to sting your nekked legs? Or the mozzies that bite me right through my yoga pants??

Laser is the answer

That is a great idea. I intend to ā€˜copycat it’ :wink: just need additional IA to distinguish between a European and an Asiatic Hornet, or I will go to jail for destroyed local protected fauna :smiley:

May I suggest…


or

If they buzz in an Asien accent, then you can use the microphone to tell the difference.

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hmmm…I used diatomeous earths on my young times to filter at the lab… i didn’t know you could make a gum strong enough for these beasts… they are truly strong with their jaws!

Just had to Read up on the difference. Main difference apart from size is that the EU hornets Are Night active, where as the Asiens are strictly day hunters.
That should be doable.

that is a potential idea. I didn’t measure (yet) the fly frequency. I can tell you that their ā€˜killing’ method is different than the european hornet. Let me elaborate… the European hornet also catches the bee on their flight but it does not kill it close to the hive entrance. Takes it to a quiet place, where the hornet literally expertly butches the bee in pieces, and then takes only part of the abdomen -but not all of it.
It is really fascinating… so much more refined than these asiatic monsters. (also, the number of european hornets attacking the bees is very small, compared to the asiatic ones)

If You do manage to set that up be sure to make plenty of SloMo Videos.
They will be very satisfying to watch.

@Izzy, the European hornets hang out by my panicle hydrangea and catch bees–it’s very sad to see. They don’t take many, but… :cry:
This is my weapon of choice:

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Have you tried a simple ventilator? (set oscillation on)

They use the CO2 we ooze through the skin to home in, akin to a scent trace. It’s gone with the wind thanks to the ventilator.

The same works for the bedroom during the night btw - how to never get bitten despite wide open windows without moskito nets.

Consider fly paper.

Of course strong paper with extra strong glue, but the same principle. That earth substance might be useful because I doubt they sell the Japanese-strength kind around here.

Landi still has electrical fly swatters, I’m very satisfied with mine bought a couple years ago. Though the ā€œmeshā€ area could be a bit larger.

And please be extra careful, the usual beekeeper gear isn’t sturdy enough to protect you.

Thanks @Roxi – that method is forbidden, as other species (some of them protected) would also be caught. Hence the XIX century process…

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I bet the hornets’ presence chases everything away, just like the japanese bees stay inside when they’re around.

But of course I’m not advocating for illegalities.


A medieval beekeeper’s outfit…it’s Friday, after all.

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