In the past few days I've noticed these giant wasp like things hanging around outside the gites (it's not my hand btw - image from http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/meet-the-asian-giant-hornet.454256347/)I decided to look them up and was horrified to see that they destroy honey bees. This website has lots of info on them
If you see the nest they should be reported to the pompiers to remove the nest. I'm keeping my eyes open as I also read in the paper that a 60 year old man was stung by 2 this Summer and died.Man killed after being stung by asian hornet
All I know is that the hornets are on the ground dead, I wondered what actually did for them. I have seen it a few times, watched it begin and waited five or six minutes until it was over I guess and imagined them stinging but this explains the lack of damage to the hornets better.
I have an average of a dozen hornets around each hive, it would be hard work for the workers to cope with killing them when more are constantly arriving as some leave. I also suspect more than one nest because there are occasionally little stand-offs between them.
The video I saw about hornet s in asia showed the European bees had learned to encircle the asian hornet scout and apparently the overheated the scout. This meant that they weresafe until thenext scout came to show its mate the hive.
Yes, they mini-swarm the hornets and presumably sting them to death. However, despite mine doing it occasionally they also have to keep the hive going so do their normal work and with the increasing numbers of the hornets it is an ever decreasing population of pollinators that is the problem. They are quite beautiful in their way but an alien invader who are disturbing the balance of nature, so must go one way or another.
Yes, this year they are munching through my bees (see the Hive group). They coexist generally, not being aggressive really. Picking our bounty of figs this year I have often gone for a juicy one at the same time as these big women (same as bees, workers all female, males...) but they don't get into a fight, just go away. However, the traps that are on sale tend not to work. Report them to your commune or call out the pompiers, but do not try to eradicate the nests yourselves. I have been keeper gear and will wear a work overall underneath to do that, get it to the ground then in a safe place as near as possible burn it. They can be very high up trees though, so best let the pompiers do it.
We quite regularly get them in our chimney (the normal type) every 5 to 6 years. This year, the chimney is clean, but I'm noticing the Asian types, which have more black colouring, hanging around our apples. The guy next door has the normal frelons in his chimney this year.
We always get a professional in to remove them when the decide to live chez nous. Don't mind the hornets too much as they seem to be a lot less aggressive than wasps.