View of a dead Asian hornet after it was caught in a hornet nest in Parempuyre, near Bordeaux, southwestern France, in this Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007 file photo. Ambushing locals at they return home from work, Asian invaders are dismembering French natives and feeding them to their young. This horror film is playing in France’s beehives, where an ultra-aggressive species of Asian hornets, who likely migrated in a pottery shipment from China, may be threatening French honey production. It’s the latest Chinese challenge to France, struggling to stay competitive in the face of China’s booming economy and cheaper, more flexible labor markets. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Millions of people depend on honey bees for their sweet tasting honey and for plant polination that is necessary for a successful crop yield. Even though the bees seem to be able to take care of themselves, (note the painful stinger on the hind end) they are at risk of being wiped out by an even bigger type of bee.
The Asian Hornet arrived in France in 2004. A french botonist imported some pottery from Asia for his plants. The Asian Hornets became unwelcome stowaways and made the long journey to France in the shipment. The botonist observed the hornets buzzing around his backyard soon after the shipment arrived. They quickly made their adopted country home and set up perment roots.
These hornets survive by making a quick meal out of the french honey bees. A scout will discover a potential hive and the entire colony of hornets will attack, literally ripping the bees limb by limb. 30 Asian bees can wipe out 30,000 european bees in as little as 2 hours. The carcasses made a nutritious paste that can be fed to the hornet larve and queen back at the home hive. Last summer, the invaders began taking a toll on the honey production. There are 1.1 million hives in France the produce about 30,000 tons of honey while polinating fields for farmers and increasing crop yields. Large numbers of once productive hives have fallen silent and empty. The french are extremely worried that the decreased bee population will have a severe effect on honey production and the agricultural market.
It’s not only france that is worried about this new invader. Warmer weather south of France in countries like Spain appears very attracting as a place to setup home. Soon these Asian Hornets may devastate bee populations on the entire european continent. Spain is expected to recieve these invaders this summer season. If the hornets stowaway again, they could also easily take over England as well.
A colony of Africanized Bees clings to a cliff in the desert north of Oracle, Ariz. Sept. 15, 1998. Seconds later the bees left the hive on the attack. The wild honeybee colonies now inhabiting the cliffs about 10 miles north of Oracle are the meanest, nastiest bees he’s ever seen in 30 years of working with bees, Bee researcher Gerald Loper said. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Fred Araiza)
This is similar to what is happening to european honeybees in the Americas. Years ago, Africanized Honey Bees were introduced into South America, from where they have since spread northward. These have inbred with their european cousins to produce hybrids that produce less honey and pose a health risk to humans. The Africanized and hybrids are dangerous because the hive sends a great deal more to defend it from invaders than an european hive will. This means unsuspecting humans who happen to stumble on a nest could die from the sheer amount of stings. My godfather lives in San Diego, California and a few years ago a teenager who was cutting through a canyon on his bike was attacted by “killer bees” as the africanized and hybrids have come to be called. The young man died from the attack.
Because honey production decreases in a hybridized hive, beekeepers are not allowed to ship their bees to areas that have not yet been infected by killer bees. The less productive bees have already decreased production and polination in the southern United States. It is unclear whether or not the killer bees will be able to survive the cold winters in the north. If they are able to, however, the north will experience the same devastation as the south. The United States is also currently losing its bee populations to an unknown cause. Colony Collapse Disorder has killed off hives in at least 22 states so far and threatens many more. If the fragile bee populations undergo another devastating blow, the beekeepers and the farmers who depend on the bees for polination will be in dire straights.
Other than hoping for the best, there is hardly anything France and the United States can do. The bees in France have come up with one way to defend themselves from attack. It is the same technique used by japanese honey bees in Japan to defend themselves against the hornets. When the hornet scout arrives searching for the next victim hive, all the bees surround the hornet to prevent it from releasing pheromones that mark the spot for a following army of hornets. The honeybees vibrate until the temperature of the hive reaches 117 degrees farenheit. A hornet can only survive at 115 degrees. The invader is slowly rosted alive before the hive can be marked for destruction. Beekeepers have also begun placing smaller entrance holes on their hives in the hopes that the large hornets will be unable to reach inside.
With this stormcloud of devastation moving on the horizon, it is unclear what will happen in the end. The same tale of invasive species is being played out again in France and the United States. This time though, there is severe economical damage in addition to severe environmental damage. Humans again are learning the lesson of introducing species into an area that they were absent from before. Only time will tell and I hope that for our sake, we can figure out a way to prevent disaster before it comes to call on us.
French Beekeepers Brace for Asian Sting: Associated Press: Paul Lauener and Marie-Laurie Combes: Friday, April 13, 2007
As a citizen of Illinois, sometimes it’s hard to get really excited about the environment. All of the polluted streams and concrete surfaces make nature seem so far away. Because I can see Chicago on a clear day, it’s pretty obvious that I live in an area that tends to be more developed. It’s easy to fall into the trap that all of Illinois is similar to the Chicago suburbs. Fortunatly though, parts of nature across the state are slowly becoming protected. Real nature preserves are being set aside, not just the square blocks of land near my house. That means that we humans can’t legally move into those areas at all.
bald egale, indiana bat, timber rattle snake, and prarie bush clover. These species are a vital part of our state’s landscape and ecosystems. The preserve will also become a resting stop for migrating birds in the area.
