This splendid specimen was on my shed door this morning, warming itself in the sun. So what has that got to do with Asian Hornets you may well ask.
If the weather is warm enough for butterflies to emerge then it is warm enough for Asian Hornet Queens to emerge.
For those who have not heard the Asian Hornet Queen will hibernate on her own and when it is warm enough then she will emerge and seek a sheltered location to build a nest such as the roof of your shed.
This nest will be the size of a golf ball.
In this nest she will lay eggs which she will then nurture and eventually a full colony could form.
Every queen we can trap in the spring could mean several hundred queens we do not have to trap next spring. So let us get trapping.
If you have a trap then use it. If not then the BBKA have instructions on how to make one.
For bait you could use a commercial bait but it is expensive and at the moment very difficult to get hold of. The Asian Hornet Queen is hungry and needs carbohydrate so some combination of fruit juice, dark beer and cider vinegar is a good choice.
Put your bait in the trap and wait. check the trap at least daily. We do not want to be killing European Hornets.
Remember each queen we catch this year could be 400 fewer nests next year.
