AHAT

ahat.org.uk

Please find below some more news articles from this week that might be worth sharing within your communities. Also, Lucie Chaumeton at London BKA has kindly redesigned her excellent AH alert poster so that it can be used by all associations - it's a much clearer and bolder design than some of the NNSS posters, with the addition of the QR code for the app too, so will hopefully be a useful addition for you. I'll be sending out to national groups as well.

It would also be really useful to know, as we head towards the warmer months, if any associations are hoping/planning to attend local outdoor shows, country fayres etc that would require some support from the BBKA with regards to resources needed. I've had some queries along this line already, and it would be helpful to know what might be needed, where and when, so we can plan accordingly.

VESPULA POSTER

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO ABOVE

BEEBASE FACT SHEET / MONITORING

Monitoring and Trapping

Monitoring traps can be used in the spring or late summer especially around risk points such as ports or areas where nests have occurred previously. A fact sheet on how to make an Asian hornet monitoring trap is available from the Asian hornet pages of BeeBase or see our 'How to make An Asian Hornet Trap' page.
It would be very helpful if all beekeepers who use monitoring traps were encouraged to record their use on BeeBase by editing their apiary records. Log into Beebase, click on 'My apiaries' and select apiary and edit those details. Scroll down to see where to list your monitoring trap information.
It is illegal to trap and release an Asian Hornet.

Further details about becoming a monitor volunteer to be uploaded soon...

Please show interest and you will be added to the CDBKA Whatsapp AHAT PAGE.

Contact Martyn - 07792126632 via Text for a reply call back.

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The role of Asian Hornet Teams (AHTs)

To reconfirm the role of a coordinator - To act as a publicly available point of contact in the local area when a reported sighing of AH is made.

To pass the reported sighing onto one of their team of local versifiers.

To be the local point of contact between government agencies and local versifiers in the case of a confirmed sighing.

To report back the results of their investigations Coordinators continue to be entered on eR2 as officers. There is a new authority form that you should use from now on. There should be a maximum of 3 co-ordinators per association, plus an additional one at branch level if the association wishes. Their pin locations will continue to be available on the publicly available map along with at least one telephone number. A 20 character comment can also be added to the phone number now – such as WhatsApp preferred. The pin location can now be placed in the middle of the area they cover, rather than using their home postcode. Coordinators should not also be recorded as Versifiers to avoid confusion (see below) A new private map, available only to eR2 users, the BBKA, WBKA and the NBU will be produced. This will include the email address of the coordinator, in addition to the publicly available phone numbers. Experience shows that most communication to coordinators over possible sightings is done by email and this will enable direct communication in this way. This 2nd map will also be made available to other government agencies who are involved in the AH work. At the moment this is likely to only be The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH). The whole point of a coordinator is that they are a link person, so they need to be contacted. We recognise the sensitivity in disclosing email addresses on the internet, which is why there is this 2nd private map. It is however essential that the coordinator is willing to share their email address with others involved in the fight against the AH. If you have an existing coordinator who is not willing, then we ask that you appoint a new person who is able to fulfil all aspects of the role.

The BBKA and its member associations have set up an AHT scheme to work in partnership with the NBU in combating the Asian hornet. Details of this scheme can be found on the BBKA website on the Asian hornet team map page. There are 5 areas where beekeepers should focus their efforts in order to increase the effectiveness of an Asian hornet response and these are detailed below:

1. Raising Awareness with the Public and Beekeepers All beekeepers should be aware of what the Asian hornet is and how to identify it. To help achieve this, the Non-native Species Secretariat (NNSS) have produced an Identification sheet with the key features of Asian hornet and other insects which are commonly mistaken for Asian hornet. There is also a 1 sided A4 poster targeted at members of the public to raise awareness at risk points such as ports, timber yards and areas where Asian hornet nests have previously been found. Both the ID sheet and Poster can be downloaded from the Asian hornet page on BeeBase or physical A4 copies can be ordered from the NBU Office using the General Enquiries email address on our Contacts page. All beekeepers should monitor for the Asian hornet in their apiaries by looking for hornets feeding on nectar or predating other insects on flowering plants. Additionally, they should monitor hive entrances for hawking behaviour. In the winter months, nests in deciduous trees may become visible and any suspect Asian hornet nest should be reported (with a photograph) through the Asian Hornet Watch app - the Online Notification Form or the Non-native Species Secretariat email address alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.

2. Monitoring and Trapping During late summer all beekeepers should be on the lookout for the Asian hornet in their apiaries by looking for hornets hawking at the front of bee hives or feeding on nectar or other insects on nearby flowering plants. Monitoring traps can be used in the spring or late summer. A fact sheet on how to make an Asian hornet monitoring trap is available in the 'Monitoring for the Asian Hornet' section of the main Asian hornet page of BeeBase.

3. Following up Leads Many Asian hornet leads that are received do not contain a photograph or an accurate description to warrant a follow up by a Bee Inspector. However, these sightings are sent an email with guidance on how to obtain a specimen and photo. The British Beekeepers Association has set up an AHT map allowing members of the public to find local beekeeping branches with AHT coordinators to help assist with their sighting. Associations/AHTs can help by ensuring their contact numbers are up to date on the BBKA website. AHTs can also follow up leads from members of the public and aid them with identifying and obtaining a specimen and photograph. The help of AHTs will improve the quality of credible leads and as a consequence will improve triaging and allow the NBU to focus on searching for and destroying nests.

4. During an Asian hornet Contingency Response When a contingency response is initiated alerts will be sent out from BeeBase via the News Feed and email alerts are sent to the relevant county to increase awareness and the local association(s) will be contacted. AHTs can support the NBU in a number of ways: 1. By monitoring and setting up traps in their own apiaries; 2. By assisting other beekeepers (who request it) in the monitoring of their apiaries and the setting up of traps; 3. By recording the use of traps in apiaries on BeeBase as previously described; 4. By observing local forage for Asian hornet activity; 5. By reporting all leads as described above.

5. Post Contingency Response Once an Asian hornet nest is destroyed, NBU surveillance continues in the area to determine if other nests are present. This surveillance takes the form of apiary and forage site visits and the monitoring of traps. Surveillance can be supported by AHTs through continued monitoring of traps in their apiaries and the recording of this activity on BeeBase by editing the apiary record.

Test your knowledge with this brief quiz - HERE

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