Bee pollination is essential for the production of our food. May 20 was World Bee Day, an opportunity to once again recall their importance, but also to obtain the strengthening of protective measures against the dangers weighing on these insects.
What to do about the Asian hornet? This insect predator itself has only one predator: man. To save their bees, beekeepers must organize themselves. A multitude of hornet traps exist. Everyone has their own technique.
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In Chevremont in the Territoire-de-Belfort, Thierry Brocard, a beekeeper, uses a funny trap in the name of a musical instrument: a harp! In fact, it is a trestle arranged in such a way that the hornet which passes through is electrocuted. The beekeeper installs it near his hives to protect his bees, which have become vulnerable after foraging.
Hornet trap called “harp”
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© Rémy Poirot France tv
The other trap, installed in the trees near the hives, is more classic. The principle is simple. Attracted by bait, the hornet enters a space, but cannot come out.
Hornet trap
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© Rémy Poirot France tv
If beekeepers are mobilizing so much, it is to save their swarms, but also humanity! On the United Nations website, at the origin of World Bee Day, it is recalled that “Three out of four crops worldwide that produce fruit or seeds for human consumption depend in part on bees and other pollinators.”
The United Nations warns: “Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly threatened by human activities.”
Not only do pollinators directly contribute to food security, but they also constitute essential levers for the conservation of biodiversity.
This world day also aimed to strengthen measures to protect bees and other pollinators. For Arnaud Adam, a beekeeper in Vandoncourt in Doubs whom our journalists Florane Padoan and Remy Poirot met, we must “raise awareness among communities. Their employees could become “referents” and locate hornet nests to have them destroyed.
We all depend on pollinators and it is therefore crucial to monitor their decline and curb the loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems.
Arnaud Adam hopes to raise awareness of the importance of bees in biodiversity. Hence the importance of coordinating between beekeepers to fight against the Asian hornet.
A hornet’s nest can destroy up to 11 kilos of insects per year
This beekeeper from the Pays de Montbéliard is more worried about the proliferation of the Asian hornet than the damage caused by humans. “The Asian hornet may be a worse problem than pesticides”.
For him, it is possible to come to an agreement with the farmers. They can treat, he explains, in the morning and evening, when there is no wind to avoid contaminating the bees. Beekeepers can be careful about where they place their hives. “We manage to live in a community without too many problems” estimates Arnaud Adam, president of the beekeeping union of Pays de Montbéliard. “Alternatives to phytosanitary products exist. They must be put in place” affirms the beekeeper, hence the importance of world bee days every year so as not to forget their role. The Asian hornet, unfortunately, does not care about this annual mobilization.
