Many residents in France are being reminded to install Asian hornet traps from now, in a bid to capture the ‘founding’ queen hornets before spring sets in, and prevent proliferation of the insects in summer.
These ‘founding’ hornets are also known as the queens of the hive. From now (late February), it is recommended to set up traps that are designed to selectively target queens.
Queens - who do not die over the winter, unlike the rest of the hive - come out of hibernation in tree stumps or from underground and begin to start new colonies when temperatures reach 13C and above. These new colonies appear as rounded nests, and are more fragile than more-established nests seen later in the season. This makes them easier to ‘neutralise’.
There is only one generation of Asian hornets (frelons asiatiques in French) per year. They are smaller than their European counterparts, and can be recognised by their darker bodies and yellow legs.
Asian hornets not only appear formidable to humans.
They also kill bees, and are a threat to biodiversity.
They are considered to be behind 20% of bee colony deaths, representing an annual loss of €12 million for the beekeeping industry, reports France Bleu.
The hornets first appeared in France in 2004, and are now present across much of the country.
If you see a nest in your home or property, you are permitted to install a trap yourself.
In contrast, any nests discovered in public - and which present a proven danger - should be destroyed by specialists contracted by the local authority.
Asian hornet nests appear oval or sphericalJens Goos/Shutterstock
Some local authorities are subsidising hornet traps for volunteers, in a bid to get rid of more of them and to monitor how many are being captured.
For example, in Saint-Léger les Vignes (Loire-Atlantique), the departmental council le Conseil départemental de Loire-Atlantique delivered eight traps to local residents for installation on February 15.
The traps are painted red to attract the hornets.
They also come with an instruction sheet, which reminds users to insert a tin can with an unusual mixture proven to attract the hornets: a cocktail of grenadine syrup, beer and white wine.
This is because:
Grenadine syrup: The sugar and smell of fruit (pomegranate) attracts the hornets
Beer: Fermenting yeast mimics the smell of ripening fruit to attract the insects
White wine: Repels bees to ensure that only hornets are caught
The mixture must be renewed every week and the temperature monitored, from February to July.
Residents are advised to place the trap in the middle of flowerbeds or trees in bloom, and in full sunlight in a sheltered position towards the south.
Each volunteer also receives an identification sheet to record the number of trapped hornets to be handed in at the end of the summer.
Trapping in the spring, if not carried out properly, can have harmful effects on biodiversity,” the council said. “That is why we need to take collective and structured action by organising and standardising practices.”
Anyone in the local area who would like a trap for next year can register at the town hall in Saint-Léger les Vignes.
Similarly, the commune of Sanilhac (Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine) has also launched a hornet-trapping campaign, with a workshop event in the town centre. Many local ministers and authorities attended the event, during which there was also a visit to local beekeeping hives, where more hornet traps were installed.
“We have been distributing traps in the municipality for three years,” the council said to local newspaper Dordogne Libre. “Today, the two beekeeping unions have joined forces, which gives us hope that we will be able to trap Asian hornets in the area.”
If you wish to check whether you can access free or subsidised hornet traps in your area, it is best to check with your local mairie.
One beekeeper has also found success with this trap ‘cocktail’, after losing three hives to Asian hornets last winter, he told France 3.
He used the grenadine, beer and white wine mix to great effect.
“I started with two cans, on my two hives that I had put there,” said Patrick Loubet. “And in 24 hours, I had caught more than 1300 [hornets]! Surely among those I caught, I took out some future queens.”
