Asian Hornet
Vespa Velutina - Yellow-legged hornet
Arrival in Europe
The first Asian hornet would come from a geographical area located in China. And the Asian hornet would therefore have arrived via the maritime transport of Chinese pottery. Before arriving in Lot-et-Garonne, the place of his first identification, he would therefore have passed through the port of Le Havre.
Since their arrival in France in 2004, the Asian hornet has become a pest, which we are all working to exterminate. The species is classified nationally in the list of second category health dangers for the domestic bee Apis Melifera throughout France. . Asian hornet stings can be dangerous to humans like those of common hornets or wasps. It all depends on the person's responsiveness and the number of bites.
The Biological Cycle of the Asian Hornet
It is in autumn (October to November) that the reproductive females of the new generation leave the nest in the company of the males to mate; they are the only ones to overwinter while the males, the last larvae and the workers die. In the spring (March to June), each founding queen drafts a new nest, lays a few eggs and takes care of her first larvae which will become, a month to a month and a half later – depending on the temperature -, adult workers capable of supporting nest building and colony maintenance. The queen will then devote the rest of her life to laying eggs. With the appearance of the workers, the activity of the colony intensifies considerably and the size of the nest increases, reaching its maximum in early fall (Rome et al., 2013b ;Rome et al., 2015,Villemant & Roma, 2017).
Fight against the Asian Hornet
The Asian hornet contributes to the disappearance of other species of insects, notably the bee. Without a predator, the Asian hornet continues to establish itself in the territory of Europe and strongly affects beekeeping and biodiversity.
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If a nest is discovered, do not attempt to destroy it: even if it is small and easily accessible, the risk of being attacked by a swarm of workers is significant. Destroying a nest without the queen inside is the same as moving the nest - the queen will rebuild a nest and this time you may not find it.
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Finally, the installation of homemade traps, known as bottle traps, should be prohibited. The latter have a significant impact on all insect populations present in this environment and are not effective in the fight against Asian hornets.
