Members AreaBBKA News Archive Magazines BBKA Forum BBKA EC and Office Who we are Trustees 2020 Executive > Link Trustees Compliance ADM BBKA Constitution Risk Assessments Meetings and Reports Office Staff Insurance Insurance Public Liability Insurance All Risks Insurance Officer Insurance Bee Diseases Insurance Exams and Assessments Exams and Assessments of the BBKA Correspondence courses Courses and Education General Help Membership Classes and benefits Renew Schools Research Members' Resources Branch and association resources BBKA Hive keeping record BeeBase Beekeeping Legislation Honey Show Rules & Judges Important Organisations for Beekeepers BeeConnected spray alert Leaflets Lecturers & Speakers RSS Feeds for members Winter Colony Survival Survey '18/19 Members' Events Members' News Asian Hornet Asian Hornet Vespa Velutina Asian Hornet Week 2020 Asian Hornet Week 2020 7-13 September We are asking everyone to be vigilant in looking out for this alien species, the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina. This hornet could decimate our pollinators including our honey bees, it is important to have everyone actively looking for it.Follow the BBKA on social media and share the Asian hornet week posts to help raise awareness Twitter FacebookInstagram Autumn is the time for trapping as wasps and hornets lose their sources of floral nectar and find hives full of honey very attractive. We are asking beekeepers to put an hour aside every day to watch for hornets hawking their hives during Asian Hornet Week. A brilliant article from APHA Science blog by Peter Davies. The threat of the Asian hornet The blog covers the background, the threat they pose, role of AHT and dealing with an incursion. A must read for all involved in their local AHT teams! Effect on Biodiversity From the Invasive Species Compendium Hornets are well known for their attacks on other hymenopteran species, especially honey bees. Studies by Muller et al. (2010, 2013) in France demonstrate that V. velutina preys on a range of insects and the carcasses of mammals and birds. The prey spectrum consisted of 59% hymenopteran species [of which bees (Apidae) represented over 35%], 32% dipterans, and 9% others (orders Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, Mecoptera, Trichopetra, Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Neuroptera, Dermaptera, and Blattaria). Resources This is a link to a PDF for an Asian Hornet banner we designed in the office and have used at the Asian hornet conference in 2020. This is shown on the right.Asian Hornet banner You can use the pdf to have your own banner printed by downloading it to your computer and then uploading it to this website. Banners are in the region of £30/40 pounds - https://www.solopress.com/roller-banners/ (other websites are available!) We have also attached the latest Asian hornet poster from the Government which you can display anywhere you think might be useful in your locality (local shops/ allotment site / work notice boards). Asian hornet ID poster How to report an Asian hornet If you suspect you have seen an Asian hornet you should report this using the ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app: Asian Hornet Watch app for iPhone Asian Hornet Watch app for android You can also report sightings by email: [email protected]. Please include information on location, date and number of Asian hornets you have seen. Please also include a photo if you can to help our experts identify the insect. Alternatively, you can fill out an online report form Reporting Asian Hornet SightingsPlease fill out the details in the form - Non-native Species Alert - at the link, in each of the three sections, before clicking on the Save button at the bottom of the last section. Follow us on social media and share our posts during Asian hornet week to help reach more people. Twitter Facebook Instagram -ends- Booking for this event has now closed.