Operational Group: Identification of methods against the Asian hornet

The objective of this Operational Group is:

To reduce the establishment and expansion of the Asian hornet and reduce the impact on native populations of Apis mellifera bees and the Vespa crambo wasp, the creation of a georeferenced database is proposed, a geographic information system that would locate the nests removed during 2015 by the association, as well as the hives in the area. The number of deaths caused by attacks by the Asian hornet on beekeepers' hives will also be included. Various methodologies will be compared for detecting nests and understanding their habits, testing the efficiency of remote sensing with cameras mounted on RPAs, as well as the use of infrared thermography. The work of collaborating with the public to find as many primary nests as possible will continue. The installation of microchips in the wasps themselves will be tested to obtain information on travel distances, food preferences, and the location of the nests themselves.

Regarding the direct fight against velutina, the elimination method using lasers associated with drones will be compared with the use of traps.