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Asian Hornet Sightings UK

Asian Hornets

Since 2016 the following confirmed Asian Hornets by UK Gov together with various outcomes are tabulated for the years 2019, 2018

Date	Location	Outcome
10th Oct	Christchurch, Dorset	primary nest destroyed
4th Oct	Christchurch, Dorset	possible other nest(s)
4th Oct	Christchurch, Dorset	nest destroyed
1st Oct	Christchurch, Dorset	confirmed sighting
9th Sept	Ashford, Kent	single hornet captured
2nd Sept	Tamworth area, Staffordshire	nest destroyed
3 July	New Milton, Hampshire	single hornet captured

Source: UK Government Confirmed Asian Hornets for 2019

Date	Location	Outcome
15th Oct	Dungeness, Kent	single hornet captured
28th Sept	Guildford, Surrey	single dead hornet
26th Sept	Brockenhurst, Hampshire	nest destroyed
24th Sept	New Alresford, Hampshire	nest destroyed
20th Sept	Fowey, Cornwall	nest destroyed
9th Sept	Hull, Yorkshire	single dead hornet
7th Sept	Liskeard, Cornwall	single dead hornet
3th Sept	Fowey, Cornwall	nest destroyed
13th April	Bury, Lancashire	single hornet sighted (2)

Source: UK Government Confirmed Asian Hornets for 2018 (2) single hornet sighted with photograph

Date	Location	Outcome
13th Oct	Woolacombe in Devon	nest destroyed
26th Sept	Woolacombe in Devon	confirmed a sighting

Source: UK Government Confirmed Asian Hornets for 2017

Date	Location	Outcome
Sept	Tetbury area, Gloucestershire	nest destroyed in Oct
Oct	North Somerset	Two dead Asian hornets (1)

Source: UK Government Confirmed Asian Hornets for 2016 (1) Two dead Asian hornets were discovered in separate locations. For more information on Asian Hornets click here

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A Blind Beekeeper listens to the sounds of the Hives

A blind beekeeper in Petaluma, California listens to the sounds of the Hives while working with them. Aerial Gilbert kept Bees before she went blind in 1988, beekeeping was one of the hobbies she figured she’d have to give up. But in the years since, she has found ways to do the things she used to before losing her sight. And that has meant relying a lot more on the power of sound. Aerial Gilbert says “I can hear how the bees are behaving — if they’re agitated, if there are other bees trying to get in the hive, or if it’s too crowded or too hot or too cold,” What you want to hear, she said, is a calm steady buzz. That indicates that everything in the hive is going smoothly.

Aerial says “When I worked with my bees, the information I was paying attention to was visual. Now it’s the other senses.” Before Aerial lost here sight she says “There’s so much visual information you get by looking at the honeycomb and the brood nest,” Gilbert said. “I didn’t think I could be a good beekeeper without being able to see.” Aerial Gilbert doesn’t hesitate to open the hives in her backyard and reach down into the humming mass of thousands of bees. Her fingers softly brush against their bodies, and they don’t seem to mind. She calls the bees her “girls.”

You can hear the Bees doing the waggle dance

Aerial Gilbert says you can hear the Bee waggle dance “The dance, it kind of happens in a little circle. You’ll hear ‘bzzz bzzz bzzz,’ and it’s different patterns depending on how far away the pollen is”. Whenever Gilbert is out working on the hives, she is listening to them, keeping tabs on how they sound. She also bought some microphones to make recordings inside the hive. Those recordings give her an audio snapshot of the bees’ condition and more specific insight into what’s happening inside the hives. She can hear the waggle dance, which is the movement bees make to tell others where to find pollen

Other Blind people who studied Bee Behaviour

Swiss Entomologist Francois Huber lost his sight in his teens, the 18th century Entomologist discovered and proved how Bees use their antennae to communicate and that queens mate in the air. He described how male drone bees — are responsible for mating with the queen — and were killed after mating with the Queen.

‘Bumblebee medicine’ found in heather

Researchers from Kew and Royal Holloway, University of London, investigated plants for medicinal properties that could protect pollinators in the wild. They tested nectar from 17 plants, including ivy, heather, clover and dandelion, for medicinal effects on a parasite found in the gut of bumblebees. Nectar from heather (Calluna vulgaris) had the most potent effect, due to a single chemical known as callunene. The strawberry tree (Arbutus unendo) and lime trees also had some medicinal activity. “Understanding which plants are needed to maintain a healthy balance between bees and their parasites can help us restore habitats that maximise bee health,” said Prof Mark Brown from Royal Holloway. Dr Koch said the chemical is also found in heather honey, which deserves further research for possible benefits in humans. The research is published in the journal Current Biology (From BBC Science & Environment ).

So maybe Beekeepers should consider taking their Honey Bee Hives to the Heather during the summer months. Since the findings would suggest that this ‘natural medicine’ is beneficial to the bumblebee species and the parasites found in the gut this could also be beneficial to Honey Bees and improve the health of the Bee colony and Hives. For information on Bumblebees click here

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