Everyone in the fight against the Asian hornet! 1,300 beekeepers in Loire-Atlantique, amateurs and professionals alike, decided to come together as a collective. Objective: to stop the invasion of these insects, which are harmful to hives. And their first action will be to put in place, next spring, a selective trapping plan.
Because the Asian hornet is a nightmare for these beekeepers. He prowls in front of the hives, captures the bees and plunders their reserves. Arriving almost 20 years ago, it has now invaded the whole of France. And according to Philippe Averty, hobby beekeeper, the Asian hornet does not only pose a problem for bees: “It’s a public health problem. Even if there aren’t many deaths, there are some. And it is also a big problem among wine growers, among arborists because the slightest prick on a fruit makes it inedible very quickly, it rots.”
Municipalities and intermunicipalities are already fighting against this invasion of Asian hornets by destroying the nests. This is good but beekeepers prefer to put in place a preventive system, such as selective trapping plan : “The luck of this collective”explains Loïc Leray, professional beekeeper in Puceul, “we are going to harmonize a trap at the departmental level, that is to say everyone together at the same time doing the same thing”. And these are elaborate traps, costing around thirty euros each, not the ones you see made by individuals with plastic bottles.
“We are all together, a bit like in the mind of the hive”
Beekeepers plan to install 2,000 traps at least, throughout Loire-Atlantique. Loïc Leray would like to emphasize that this collective, on the scale of a department, is a first in France: “We already have the merit of implementing this. And all together, it’s super important, a bit like in the mind of the hive. Hoping that it works.”
Start of response within a year: “We will be able to measure, after two or three years, the impact of spring trapping. the municipality of Pontchâteau has implemented this selective plan and it is already paying off from the second year. We see fewer nests compared to surrounding communities, so it’s an encouraging sign.”reports the beekeeper.
The collective obtained 50,000 euros from the departmental council, their project having been selected as part of the participatory budget launched this year. This sum, which will make it possible to finance the traps, is welcome because the ambition of these beekeepers from Loire-Atlantique is significant, knowing that **a nest can generate 13,000 Asian hornets over a season**, including 500 queens who are themselves future founders.
2023-12-27 21:44:42
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