Hornet Trap Installed
My regular open mesh floor had developed a gap at the back that hundreds of bees were using. Perhaps these bees were from this colony but they might have been robbers and I have heard of other beekeepers losing 40lb of honey in a matter of days due to wasp entering hives through a hole. So it seemed a good day to install the ApiShield Hornet Trap, which is also a floor, that Vita had supplied. Thanks Vita.
The principle behind this trap is (A) let the house bees get familiar with the front entrance, (B) open up the side entrances after 3 days and insert cones that allows hornets (including Asian Hornet), wasps, wax moth and robbers bees in but not back out. They are attracted to these side entrances as they can smell the honey, brood and wax and it is an easy way to avoid the guard bees.
There’s a drawer/tray at the back so you can examine and remove the predators getting trapped.
I’ll write a new blog post when I open the side entrances and examine the contents of the tray.
Read More
- More details including video instruction for the Apishield Hornet Trap*
- More information on the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina
- Postscript, I wrote a review on my experience of this trap: ApiShield Review
* Paid for link
