Die Asian hornet has been introduced and has spread rapidly in the past year. A look at the current year promises From an expert perspective, nothing good. The animal, among other things Honey bees destroyedalready occurs throughout Saarland. BayernBaden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia are also affectedsaid Benjamin Waldmann, consultant for invasive species at the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment. The mild winter and the continued mild weather without permanent frost this spring are likely to cause the animal to move over the course of the year greatly increased again.
On a recent one from the State Institute for Bee Science The map of the animals’ occurrence, completed at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, also recorded a sighting of the hornet in Berlin last September for the first time – “far away from previous occurrences,” said Waldmann. According to the Nabu Nature Conservation Association, the animal has not yet penetrated too far to the east. But also in Lower Saxony, for example, Bayern and Hesse as well as Hamburg there are settlements. “One Spread to other federal states is possible and to be expected,” says the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). That does all Conservationists are very worried.
Asian hornet already in several federal states – experts warn
“It is impossible to predict how this rapidly spreading species will affect us native insect world “will have an impact,” says bee expert from the Nabu regional association of Baden-Württemberg, Martin Klatt. There has been no research into how the Asian hornet relates to the native and protected European hornet, nor how the prey of other insects affects the Asian hornet hunts honey bees, but also eats Flies, beetles and wild bees.
A large nest with a thousand or more Asian hornets consumes significantly more than eleven kilos of insects per year, said Kristin Krewenka from the Baden Beekeepers Association. Asian hornets also like to bite into fruit. For the People are the stitches According to Nabu, it is no more dangerous than that of native wasp species.
What damage this hornet caused beyond what was feared Insect species loss could do, is there not clear. At the beginning of March, the German Beekeepers Association warned of potential dangers not only for beekeeping, but also for agriculture. He referred to a study Damage to fruit and wine growing in Galicia and Portugal.
The effects of the hornet settlement are not yet foreseeable – what can be done
What to do about the introduced species? The affected federal states are starting Reporting portals where sightings and nests of the animals are displayed can be. In Baden-Württemberg there were 550 reported nests last year – one Twentyfold compared to the year before. According to the local Ministry of the Environment, around 430 nests were reported and removed in Rhineland-Palatinate in 2023. Nobody knows how high the number of unreported cases is.
There are hornet traps here that you can reuse
The federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, which has so far been virtually unaffected, has recently also feared that the Asian hornet could colonize and in mid-March called for sightings to be recorded on a reporting portal. In general, the federal states are an issue invasive species in constant exchangeemphasizes the BfN: “Also a common, Nationwide reporting platform for early detection types is currently being discussed by the federal states.”
No one among experts believes that the Asian hornet will ever disappear from Germany again. “The drops sucked,” says Waldmann. “All we can do is limit it.” The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is not to be confused with the European hornet (Vespa crabro) or the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia). The latter is spreading in the USA, for example. The species does not occur in Germany.
Article contains affiliate links
*Note: The booking links provided in this article or links marked with a shopping cart symbol are so-called affiliate links/advertising links. If you click on one of these links and then book accommodation or make a purchase through it, we receive a commission from a cooperation partner (e.g. Booking.com or hotel.de) after the stay has been completed or from the retailer. This doesn’t change the price for you.
Preview image: © Symbol image (pixabay,com)