Based on Andrew Durham’s webinar given to the BBKA 03/09/25

Twenty years after Vespa velutina nigrithorax arrived in south-west France, nest numbers and predation have surged across large parts of Europe. Andrew, a Cambridgeshire beekeeper who has studied the hornet since 2014, argues that once the hornet establishes, large scale nest destruction does not reduce populations enough to change outcomes. It is expensive, late, and logistically impossible to deliver at the scale required. He contends that beekeepers should concentrate on two things that measurably help bees. First, robust apiary-level defences and husbandry. Second, targeted spring trapping of foundress queens and rapid removal of nearby predating nests within roughly one kilometre of the apiary. Spring trapping is not perfect, and it raises biodiversity concerns, but where hornets are present at meaningful density it likely sacrifices fewer insects overall than a single undisturbed hornet nest consumes in a season. The unpleasant arithmetic matters.

Part 1. What happens when eradication ends

For now, the UK remains in an eradication phase. The National Bee Unit has been buying us time. Andrew’s central question looks beyond that moment. What should beekeepers do when national eradication winds down and the hornet is established enough that government steps back from frontline response?

Experiences from Belgium, France, Jersey, and Switzerland offer a preview. As state services pivot to containment, ad hoc local schemes appear. Volunteers try to fill the gap. Demand races ahead of capacity. Nest numbers keep climbing. The result is an exhausting treadmill that does not materially cut the next year’s hornets.

Why reported nest destruction underperforms

Detection bias. Most reported nests cluster around towns and villages. Rural areas produce fewer reports even when nests are present. The picture is incomplete by design.
Timing. Many nests are found in late summer or autumn. By then predation has hammered colonies and biodiversity. Sexuals leave nests from late September. Destruction comes too late to stop reproduction.
Logistics and cost. A functioning scheme needs public reporting, triage, authorized access, destruction, audit, and payment. High nests require specialist kit. Volunteers burn out. Even well run departments in France have watched totals climb year on year.
Sheer scale. Think in thousands of nests, not dozens, across July to November. In a county the workload rapidly dwarfs any realistic volunteer force or budget.

Track and trace sounds ideal, yet seldom scales

Jersey demonstrates how bait stations, tracking teams, and funded destruction can find more nests, earlier. It works on a small, densely populated island. It does not translate to large rural departments or counties with far fewer eyes on the ground. Multiply the Jersey effort by the area of a mainland county and the numbers become unmanageable.

The uncomfortable maths

Even optimistic modelling suggests that destroying the vast majority of nests achieves only partial reductions in spread and density. Hitting the ninety five percent threshold before sexuals emerge is practically unreachable at scale. Continental managers increasingly describe nest destruction as mitigation for public safety and short term relief, not a population control lever.

Part 2. Spring trapping, with eyes wide open

Scientists long dismissed spring trapping as inefficient or harmful to non-target insects. Two shifts have changed minds on the continent.

Predation burden. A single hornet nest consumes roughly the biomass of tens of thousands of honeybee-sized insects per season. Against that consumption, the bycatch from controlled spring trapping may be the lesser harm once hornets are undeniably present.
Threshold thinking. Trapping makes sense where hornet density around hives is real and recurrent. In France, a practical trigger is visible predation around one to three hornets at a hive entrance during the day in the predation window. You cannot wait for perfect data. You act on typical local density.

What effective, proportionate trapping looks like

Tight vicinity. Deploy traps within the apiary and out to roughly six hundred metres to one kilometre, not county wide.
Time bound. Early spring, targeting foundress queens before secondary nests are established. Remove or scale back when the window closes.
Fit for purpose traps. Over-selective, expensive traps are often impractical in the numbers required. Cheap, well designed cone traps on jars can be viable if configured correctly.
Entrance size matters. Very narrow inlets reduce hornet entry. Slightly enlarging to around 8.5 to 9 mm improves catch rates.
Prevent great escapes. Hornets can and do learn their way out of some trap geometries. Use one-way devices or interior textures that prevent climbing to the exit.
Bait pragmatism. No bait is a silver bullet. Commercial lures and homemade mixes perform similarly in many trials. Consistency and placement matter more.
Bycatch minimisation. Add escape holes sized for non-target insects. Keep traps shaded and serviced to reduce fly build-up. Use smaller volumes so scents volatilise in cool spring conditions.

The ethical line is clear. If there are too few hornets to exceed the density threshold, do not trap. If there are, trap responsibly and locally, because the alternative is allowing a nest that will remove a staggering number of insects and seed more nests next year.

Part 3. Where beekeepers can actually move the needle

Andrew’s hierarchy of action is practical and humane.

Get the beekeeping right. Strong, healthy colonies withstand predation better than weak ones. Good nutrition, timely requeening, disease control, and sensible apiary layout all reduce losses.
Ring the apiary with defences. Physical screens, wasp-proofed entrances, seasonal robbing controls, decoy or distraction feeding outside the flightline, and well timed shutdowns of exposed fronts can cut hawking success dramatically when pressure is low to medium.
Act locally, not heroically. In spring, trap foundresses in the apiary’s neighbourhood. Through the season, if predation at a specific apiary becomes strong, locate and remove the nearby secondary nest with an authorized operator, or enlist a trained beekeeper destruction team where lawful.
Be wary of mission creep. County-wide volunteer destruction forces look noble and soon collapse under their own weight. If your association spends its limited energy anywhere, spend it on beekeeper education and an emergency referral pathway to licensed pest control for nests threatening apiaries or the public.

Part 4. Lessons from abroad, without the romance

France. A new national plan leans on volunteers, local co-funding, strict data collection, and early phase-out of widespread nest destruction as predation rises. In practice, variability, cost, and bureaucracy make it hard to deliver.
Belgium. Government retreat has pushed beekeepers into the front line. Some regions now allow beekeeper destruction teams within one kilometre of an apiary. It helps individual beekeepers but does not dent regional population dynamics.
Jersey. Best in class track and trace within a small, dense island, backed by government funds and hundreds of trained volunteers. It works there. It does not scale to large rural counties.
Switzerland. Rapid quadrupling of nests after first establishment. Beekeepers took on reporting, tracking, and even destruction, then quickly found the task overwhelming. Authorities are now investing, but totals still outpace capacity.

The pattern repeats. Where schemes depend on volunteers and private landowners, the operational bottlenecks arrive exactly when nest numbers spike.

Part 5. A pragmatic playbook for UK associations and beekeepers

For individual beekeepers

Before spring. Strengthen colonies. Reduce stressors. Prepare screens, entrance reducers, and robbing protocols.
Early spring. If your area met the hornet density threshold last season, deploy ten or so well configured cone traps around the apiary and within walking distance, service regularly, and remove on schedule.
Seasonal watchfulness. Log hawking intensity at entrances. Low to medium pressure can often be managed with apiary defences. Escalate only when pressure is strong and sustained.
When pressure turns strong. Track flightlines, confirm a likely nest within one kilometre, and arrange lawful destruction. Keep records. Remove lures once the window passes.

For associations

Teach the craft. Prioritise training on apiary defences, recognition of pressure thresholds, and low-impact spring trapping that actually works.
Stand up a helpline. Create a clear pathway to licensed pest controllers, including mutual aid or subsidy schemes for members rather than trying to build a county-wide destruction army.
Buy smart, not shiny. If procuring traps, favour affordable designs you can distribute widely. Provide drill jigs or pre-set inlets. Supply one-way inserts that prevent escapes.
Measure what matters. Track local hornet pressure and the dates when predation starts. You need a typical picture to decide whether to recommend spring trapping next year.
Guard volunteer time. Avoid turning schemes into data-entry projects. Keep paperwork lean so people stay with the work that protects bees.

Part 6. Myths, risks, and careful truths

Myth. “We can shoot or blast nests out.” Prohibited in many charters. It risks dispersal, relocation, and environmental contamination.
Myth. “Selective traps are always best.” Hyper-selective, expensive traps become self-defeating if beekeepers cannot afford enough of them or if narrow inlets deter queens. The best trap is the one that is available in adequate numbers, configured correctly, and maintained properly.
Risk. Bycatch. Real, and it must be minimised. Yet the consumption footprint of a single operating hornet nest reframes the ethics where density thresholds are met.
Truth. Timing beats heroics. Early, local actions outperform late, generalized actions. Your bees need help before sexuals fly.

Conclusion

There is courage in letting go of the seductive, simple answer. Widespread nest destruction feels decisive. It is also late, leaky, and logistically impossible at the scale a settled hornet population demands. The work that protects bees best is closer to home. Run strong colonies. Ring the apiary with smart defences. Trap foundresses in spring where density justifies it. Track and remove the few nests that are actively hammering your bees.

If eradication gives way to containment in the UK, resist the urge to rush in and carry a burden your association cannot sustain. Prepare now. Decide what you will and will not take on. Build the skills that stay useful, whatever the policy weather does next.

Top tips for beekeepers: how to defend your hives

1) Start with strong colonies. Healthy, well-fed colonies withstand predation better than weak ones. Replace failing queens early. Keep Varroa and disease under control. Ensure steady nutrition; add protein and carbohydrate when forage is poor.

2) Set up the apiary to reduce hawking. Face entrances away from open flightlines and towards hedges or windbreaks. Keep hives off busy paths. Avoid clustering too tightly; stagger entrances and vary orientations to cut drifting and panic flights.

3) Tighten entrances at the right time. In predation periods, fit reducer blocks or wasp guards that allow bees to defend a smaller doorway. Aim for a single bee space entrance on weaker colonies. Open up again when pressure drops to maintain ventilation.

4) Use physical screens and shelters. Fit vertical mesh or slatted screens 20–30 cm in front of entrances so returning bees rise above hawking hornets. Lean simple A-frames or hedging panels to push flightlines upward. Shade exposed fronts in heat.

5) Keep the yard tidy and unattractive to wasps. Seal honey stores. Clean spillage quickly. Close weak nucs or move them. Remove burr comb and cappings on the day. Do not leave wet supers out.

6) Monitor, then escalate. Log what you see. Low pressure equals occasional hawking with bees flying freely. Medium equals repeated hawking with hesitancy at the entrance. Strong equals multiple hornets with sustained bee paralysis at the entrance. Escalate measures only as pressure rises.

7) Spring trapping where justified. If your area consistently met the hornet density threshold last season, deploy 8–12 cone-type jar traps within the apiary and out to about 600 metres in early spring. Use inlets around 8.5–9 mm; add one-way inserts to prevent escapes; include bycatch exit holes. Service traps frequently. Remove promptly when the window closes.

8) Protect foragers during peak predation. Fit entrance screens; reduce entrances; consider moving water and attractants off the direct approach so bees do not queue at the doorway. Avoid prolonged open-feeding which can create traffic jams and panic flights.

9) Track the threat to source. When pressure is strong and sustained, watch flightlines on warm, calm hours and triangulate likely nest direction. Seek landowner permission. Arrange lawful destruction through licensed operators or trained teams. Record dates and outcomes.

10) Do not dilute your efforts. Focus on the one kilometre around your apiary rather than county-wide heroics. Early, local actions pay off; late, generalised actions rarely do.

11) Stay legal and safe. Only certified users should apply pesticides. Avoid prohibited methods such as firearms or improvised projectiles. Wear appropriate PPE when working under predation pressure.

12) Communicate and coordinate. Share local sightings and pressure logs with your association. Agree simple alert levels and recommended responses so members act consistently.

Is nest destruction a dangerous delusion, and is spring trapping the lesser of two evils?