Options for the biological and physical control of Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hym.: Vespidae) in Europe: A review

Abstract

Recently, the environmental economist J.M. Salles (Salles, ) declared that “the Asian hornet was likely to be the most threatening invader insect in France.” Thirteen years after the accidental introduction in France, the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) has invaded most west European countries. Little has been done to date to limit its progression and its economic, ecological and social impact. Although it is illusory to try to eradicate this species, it is known that a targeted control would limit its threatening trend. Current V. velutina control in France is mainly based on (i) high scale volunteer trapping by citizens and (ii) volunteer spotting of the nest. Evaluation of trapping strategies developed so far to control V. velutina expansion has highlighted their failure and has demonstrated the need to optimize nest detection techniques and to investigate on new control strategies. This review describes most of the means aimed to control predation and expansion of V. velutina, whether they have been scientifically assessed or only tested on field with decent success. Published prospective control methods and biological control techniques are also presented.

Vespa velutina: An Alien Driver of Honey Bee Colony Losses

“…The pheromones produced by the hornet colony's components are being studied for their possible use in biological control techniques [40]. Couto et al [41], in a neurobiological works on V. v. nigrithorax, showed the presence of several microstructures in the antennal lobe of the males, which are probably linked to sex pheromones.…”

“…Sugar based baits include beer, vinegar, grenadine, acetic acid, fermented honeycomb juice, honey, different type of sweeteners mixtures, etc. [40]. They are better used between February and May, so to catch the founder queens when they begin the construction of the primary nests, and from August until November, to detect the presence of the species in new areas or to catch the reproductive adults.…”

“…Control invasive alien species is difficult and expensive in the long term; therefore, every effort should be undertaken to prevent their establishment and diffusion in new areas. The many methods developed to control V. v. nigrithorax in Europe and in Asia outside of its native range have been previously reviewed [9,33,35,40,47].…”

“…In the first case, the baited traps used for monitoring purposes can be used either for controlling purposes, but traps are at the moment not selective enough to prevent extensive captures of non-target insects, with possible extensive impacts to native species [57,63]. Other types of control techniques are used or tested in Europe: bucket poisoned baits, passive traps, electric traps, electric harps, badminton rackets, beehive muzzles, nest gunshot, or the use of the hornet workers as poison carriers [40].…”

The flip side of the coin: ecological function of the bee‐hawking Asian hornet

“…Current records show that this species has invaded Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and Belgium, with its first introduction in Europe in 2004 in southwestern France (Keeling et al 2017;Turchi & Derijard 2018). This invasive species represents a significant threat to the endemic insect fauna and the biodiversity of "invaded" habitats, through decreasing insect populations, bee pollination services and honeybee colonies, negatively impacting the beekeeping industry, damaging crops and fruits, and threatening public health (Monceau et al 2014;Arca et al 2015).…”