Asian hornets: new threat to bees in Germany!

Asian hornets: new threat to bees in Germany!

In the United States, a great danger for beekeepers is now officially banned: the Asian giant hornings, also known as killer hornings, have been exhausted again after five years. The authorities confirm that the invasive insect type Vespa Mandarinia, which was first spotted on Vancouver Island in August in 2019, has now been eradicated nationwide. These animals, which are up to 5.5 centimeters tall, are not only dangerous for allergy sufferers, but also threaten the honeybees because they chase them to eat them. However, the exact ways of their introduction to the United States remain unclear, since all known nests have been successfully destroyed, as krone.at reported.

Asian hornets in Europe on the advance

While a threat was averted in the United States, the Asian hornets (Vespa Velutina) continues to spread quickly in Europe. This species was introduced from Southeast Asia in 2044 and has been unstoppable since then. Particularly alarming: For the first time, she was spotted on April 9, 2024 in Salzburg, Austria. For the time being, this sighting is rated as a single find, since it is probably a single queen who may not have founded a nest. However, the agency for health and nutrition, ages, warns against catching or killing the animals on their own, since they could be confused with domestic hornet species, as de.wikipedia.org Explained.

The Asian hornets is not only an optically striking insect with black legs and yellow tips, but also a feared robber of honeybees. Beekeepers fear that this invasive type could cause considerable damage to its peoples because it is targeting social skin wing. The spread in Germany has also achieved regionally alarming dimensions: In Baden-Württemberg, a large number of nests were discovered in 2023, and the expected number of the finds could increase to up to 1,000 this year, which illustrates the extent of the threat to beekeeping. However, combating this kind is challenging because the hornets often nest at inaccessible heights.