Controlling, preventing and monitoring the spread of the Asian Hornet, in partnership with JaBeProDe SAS.
The Asian Hornet (Vespa Velutina) is an invasive specie which appeared in France in the area of Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) in 2004.
Due to the lack of efficient measures to eradicate the Asian Hornet from the start, the area which has been affected now covers 75 % of the french territory, as well as a large part of Spain and the British channel islands. The first sights have been recorded in mainland UK in 2016. It is estimated that 15 % of colonies are lost in France to the Asian Hornet every year, with a loss going up to 80 to 100% in some apiaries.
Asian Hornet feeding on a Honeybee
What are the solutions?
There is at the moment a single approach in United Kingdom to the Asian Hornet issue. Any sighting has to be reported and the nest, if located, will be destroyed using chemicals, which will actually be harmful to the wildlife. This approach has been in force in France and still is, but it is costly, not environment friendly, and slow. A colony of Asian Hornet can wipe out a beehive in a matter of days if not hours. This approach has not prevented the Vespa Velutina to spread across mainland Europe.
However, we highly recommend to report any sighting so the Asian Hornet can be monitored and dealt with. To report a sighting please click HERE.
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Anticipation and prevention:
A complementary and indispensable approach is to firstly prevent the Asian Hornets to establish themselves. At Raw Mellifera, we have the solution; it's selective trapping of the queens AH before they start to establish their colonies. That way, we will be able the prevent this invasive specie to harm our honeybees and protect the public as well as the wildlife.
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The device:
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In 2016, Denis Jaffré, a professional french apiarist developed a new device which can trap specifically the Asian Hornet Queens and workers. The funnel like door named "Module d'Accés Sélectifs" (abrev. MAS) -selective access module- can be adapted to any boxes, and is extremely easy to set up to protect your apiary from the pest. The JaBeProDe ( Jaffre Bee Protection Device) will target only Asian Hornet, preventing any other species to get trapped.
The JaBeProDe system - The MAS
It is a device twice patented on an international level including the United Kingdom, Grand Prize, Gold Medal of the 2018 Lépine Competition and Prize of the Revue du Mérite Agricole. Used by beekeepers in mainland Europe, it prevents them to have their colonies wiped out by the AH and prevents any new colony to appear in the area where the trap is set.
The funnel consists of 6 pieces of perspex to assemble and to fit to any type of box, creating a trap from which the AH can not escape. The holes are manufactured extremely precisely, with less then 1/100 millimetre margin. So the honey bees, wasps and other insects can escape, and the European Hornet can not enter being slightly larger than the AH.
During the spring, the AH Queen will look for honey and sweet food. By baiting the trap with cappings full of honey or cut honeycomb, every single AH Queen in the area will be trapped. From June onward, AH workers will look for proteins to feed larvae. Fish based cat food, alongside cappings will do the trick and attract them into the trap. The cycle starts again in September when the future AH Queens start to emerge for the following year.
We aim at keeping the lowest price possible for the JaBeProDe MAS kit keeping in mind that it is a very specific product which can actually save your apiaries. The full set consists in a pair of MAS by JaBeProDe.
To order click --->HERE
Full Instructions and how to set it up --->HERE
Association, Collectivities and Beekeepers Clubs click --->HERE
IMPORTANT: Due to the high demand of the MAS kits in continental Europe, please allow a delivery within 45 to 60 days.
On the left, the set trap.
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On the right, a trap full of Asian Hornets.