Local pure honey produced in Lancashire is fast becoming a rarity in the face of ever-increasing challenges of climate change. But there’s an even bigger threat looming and it’s time to mobilise an army of honey-eating bee lovers.
If you love pure local Lancashire honey, you can buy this local delicacy from Gather this week. You can also help protect future availability of this product by helping Fred Ayres, Chair of the Lune Valley Beekeepers protect local bees and other pollinators from the dreaded invading Asian hornet.
Local bees in danger means future food production is at risk, too.
The yellow-legged hornet otherwise known as the Asian hornet arrived on UK shores about five years ago with concentrations, so far, found mainly around the South coast of England. This aggressive creature has already cost the French economy over £26 million in lost crops.
Fred explains, “Asian hornets feed on bees and other pollinators so can have a devastating impact on local insect populations. Each hornet can eat over 50 bees per day. This drastically reduces the amount of pollination which can take place and significantly reduces the yield from allotments, market gardens and field crops.”
With each nest producing up to 500 hornet queens – the populations can grow at an alarming rate and endanger the very survival of our native bees already in decline. Up till now, there have been very few sightings of hornets in the north – but we need to be vigilant.
Join the fight against the hornet invasion
Help the Lune valley Beekeepers who are taking part in a national monitoring programme.
If you have an allotment or a garden, the beekeepers ask you to get a hornet trap which can then be baited and observed. If you trap a hornet, the beekeepers will come and get it for their DNA to be checked.
Should you find an Asian hornet nest, report it as soon as possible. Under no circumstances should you attempt to remove it as this is a dangerous task requiring specialist knowledge.
Lune Valley Beekeepers have produced a video about the threat posed by the Yellow Legged Asian Hornet and what can be done to minimise it. The production of the video was supported by the Pots of Possibility Community Pots fund.
Ways you can help – Please act now!
- Request and buy a hornet trap for £5 from Lune Valley Beekeepers. Email fred@lunevalleybeekeepers.co.uk
- Educate yourself and your friends – find out more from the Lune Valley Beekeepers
- Download the Asian Hornet Watch app to your phone to report any sightings from the Apple and Android app stores.
- OR use the online reporting form.
