11th October 2016 Vita donates eight sentinel hornet traps to Stroud beekeepers

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PRESS RELEASE
Date: 11th
October 2016
Title: Vita donates eight sentinel hornet traps to Stroud beekeepers
11 October 2016
Vita has donated eight ApiShield Asian hornet traps to a group of Gloucestershire
beekeepers to help establish how far the latest threat to honey bees has spread in
Britain.
Vita’s ApiShield traps replace existing hive floors and attract hornets, wasps and even
robber bees in by side entrances where they become trapped under a wire mesh and
cannot exit through the cone entrances. Meanwhile, the honeybee colony uses and
protects the front entrance to the hive. Beekeepers can periodically inspect the traps to
see if any Asian hornets have been caught.
Peter Lead of the Stroud Beekeepers’ Association said: “We have installed two
ApiShield traps in our Association apiary and are distributing the others for use in the
area. Last year, our Association apiary was plagued by a lot of wasps and, even after a
few days, the ApiShields have already trapped a substantial number. There is no sign
of the Asian hornet yet, but we are inspecting regularly. I particularly like the Vita hornet
trap because, unlike bait lures, it is not adding an additional enticement for wasps and
hornets to enter the apiary.”
Unlike the native European hornet (Vespa crabro), the Asian Hornet hornet (Vespa
velutina) poses a very serious threat to honeybees. Native to China, this hornet arrived
in a pottery consignment in Bordeaux, France in 2004. Since then the hornets have
devastated honeybee colonies in many parts of France and have spread into Belgium,
NW Spain, N Portugal, Italy, Germany and now the UK. Smaller than the European
hornet, the Asian hornet poses no new threat to humans.

2. On 20 September 2016, the National Bee Unit announced that an Asian hornet had
been discovered near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, the first sighting of the invasive
honeybee pest in the UK. A nest was soon discovered in the area and destroyed, but
hopes that this was a one-off incident were dashed when, on 4 October, another Asian
hornet was discovered about 60km away in the Mendips in Somerset.
Dr Max Watkins of Vita (Europe) Ltd, explained: “The Asian hornets’ mode of attack is
highly organised. In the summer a few hornets terrorise honeybee colonies by picking
them off one by one as they return to the hive. Faced with this threat, the honeybees
eventually stay home for safety, but then become weak through starvation or disease.
At the end of the season more Asian hornets arrive and swoop en masse to invade the
hive and devour the bees and the hive contents.”
Dr Watkins continued: “In the current situation, the best case scenario is that the two
sightings are isolated, unrelated incidents, but this seems unlikely because there is
60km between sightings. The fear is that the hornet entered the country some time ago
and has already spread and become established in a few areas. While destroying nests
is certainly a good plan, mated queens may already be on the wing preparing for winter.
That would mean that we can expect more next year unless the winter or spring are
particularly unsuitable for the hornet in its new environment.”
About Us
Vita (Europe) Limited is a mite control and honeybee health specialist. It is the world’s
largest dedicated supplier of honeybee health products to the honey and pollination
industries. With a rigorous and ethical approach to research and development into
honeybee health, Vita has no commercial interests in crop pesticides or crop breeding
that may be harmful to honeybees.
Vita researches, develops, and manufactures a range of honeybee health products. Its
headquarters are in the UK, it has offices in Italy, France and Russia, and partners
across the globe. These products are marketed internationally through a network of 60
distributors in 50 countries.
Vita’s honeybee health product range includes anti-varroa acaricides – Apistan®
(outside the USA/Canada) and Apiguard® – chalkbrood and wax moth
controls, foulbrood diagnostic kits and health-promoting feeds. Vita also

3. supplies Asian hornet traps, Small Hive Beetle traps and swarm lures. Vita products
have been registered by more than 60 veterinary authorities.
Vita promotes sustainable beekeeping through Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Its
treatments are designed to inhibit the build-up of resistance and wherever possible
contain natural compounds and biological controls that are benign to all but the target
pests.
Vita invests a very high proportion of its turnover in research and development.
Research partners include universities such as Thessaloniki, Cardiff, Milan, Udine and
Naples and institutes such as the FERA Laboratories in the UK and the USDA in
America. Vita’s innovative research and development work has been recognised by and
has received support from the UK Government.
As a result of its primary research of natural control agents, Vita is currently engaged in
new projects exploring mite control in the agriculture, veterinary, and horticulture
industries as well as public health and human allergen control.
See www.vita-europe.com for more information and a web app which can be accessed
at www.healthybeeguide.com.
Follow Vita as “Vita (Europe) Ltd” on Facebook and Google+ and as @vitaeuropeltd
on Twitter.
Media Enquiries
Stephen Fleming at Palam Communications
+44 (0) 1635 299116
s.fleming@palam.co.uk
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