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Large hornets "invading France and UK"

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LAN_403

Conundrum

Mon May 21 2012, 07:51AM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

Vespa velutina is the beastie in question, its about double the size of a typical queen UK wasp.
These are not particularly aggressive unless near the nest.
However the main concern is if they get into a fizzy drink bottle as a sting in the mouth or throat could be fatal.

I heard of a couple of cases of Vespa mandarinia (aka the "Giant Hornet") being found dead in imported wooden items from overseas, however a live one would likely not survive long as the solar power it needs to fly and live simply isn't present in the UK for long enough.

These really are solar powered, several studies have been done which identified surface structures that generate electricity.

In Jurassic times its likely that the largest hornet-like creatures could have been as big as a small bird, and potentially have had wingspans of nearly a foot.

Wonder if anyone has done a study of how these things respond to geomagnetic disturbances, as they could then end up going off course and ending up in the UK or France.

-A

Thomas W

Mon May 21 2012, 09:09AM

Registered Member #3324 Joined: Sun Oct 17 2010, 06:57PM
Location:
Posts: 1276

*gets ducktape and carboard, blocking up all holes and gaps in my house* eek, i do NOT want to see these things over here, i just hope that they really cant servive in england :x

Nicko

Mon May 21 2012, 10:12AM

Registered Member #1334 Joined: Tue Feb 19 2008, 04:37PM
Location: Nr. London, UK
Posts: 615

A bee-keeper responds...

We've been aware of these for a few years now (since at least 2009) - they predate bees & beehives and are unpleasant (as are all hornets & wasps) as 1) they can sting multiple times without dying and 2) they can sting though a bee-keeper's suit...

Ordinary European wasp queens are pretty big, and the normal worker wasps try to "rob" bee-hives of stores in September of thereabouts...

If this latest hornet makes it to the UK in any quantity, we will just put hornet traps/guards on the entrances to our hives (they are much bigger than bees, so a carefully sized grill can bar them), e.g.

. Bees themselves will also attack hornets by smothering them and causing them to overheat, suffocate and die (they do this to wasps too).

The challenge for a bee-keeper is to get the genetics of their colonies right - you want bees that are aggressive enough to attack invaders like wasps, hornets, wax moth etc., but not to be too aggressive towards the bee-keepers - also, some feel that the more aggressive bees make better honey (though less of it). All things are a balance... its a very subtle process...

Steve Conner

Mon May 21 2012, 11:00AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Bother said Pooh, as the CIA used Tesla scalar waves to direct a swarm of hornets into his home.

Proud Mary

Mon May 21 2012, 11:59AM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Photo: Early signs of hornet infestation in a Guernsey man.

'The giant hornets are believed to be using the Channel Islands as a staging post and resting area before their crossing of the English Channel.
"We don't know quite why they are attracted to Guernsey," said hornet specialist Dr V.S. Marsupial, "But there is some evidence that the hornets are stopping to build themselves up with silicon, which is abundant in and around the piles of electronic scrap to be found in some parts of the island."'

Thomas W

Mon May 21 2012, 03:58PM

Registered Member #3324 Joined: Sun Oct 17 2010, 06:57PM
Location:
Posts: 1276

oh god, now we haveto seal up our containers of PCBs and projects?

Alex M

Mon May 21 2012, 04:26PM

Registered Member #3943 Joined: Sun Jun 12 2011, 05:24PM
Location: The Shire, UK
Posts: 552

Great, more things to use the hand-held bug zapper on. Its probably my favourite garden summer sport only beaten by lying on an inflatable in the pool and doing nothing at all

hboy007

Mon May 21 2012, 08:17PM

Registered Member #1667 Joined: Sat Aug 30 2008, 09:57PM
Location:
Posts: 374

Shouldn't we be more worried about varroa mites and pesticides that wreck a serious amount of bee colonies every year? Just my opinion.
By the way... wasp and hornet hives are as close to cardboard as it gets. They love this stuff

Even bees have no qualms about chewing through paper, cardboard or even soft wood if it suits their purpose. A thin metal fly screen is much more effective and doesn't turn your bedroom into a gloomy cave

Conundrum

Mon May 21 2012, 09:29PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

Proud Mary wrote ...

"But there is some evidence that the hornets are stopping to build themselves up with silicon, which is abundant in and around the piles of electronic scrap to be found in some parts of the island."'

Oh ha ha.

We have the wasp spiders as well, seen those already.

-A

Killa-X

Tue May 22 2012, 07:18AM

Registered Member #1643 Joined: Mon Aug 18 2008, 06:10PM
Location:
Posts: 1039

I chopped a bee or two with my quadcopter... Far as I see, they are just easier targets!!

I wonder how much more pain the stinger is.

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