Switzerland trials muzzles and electric harps against Asian hornets

Jura: harps and muzzles to trap Asian hornets Keystone-SDA

Scientists have fitted several beehives in Cornol in canton Jura with electric harps and muzzles to electrocute and stop Asian hornets. Their aim is to test the effectiveness of these systems.

Nine beehives on the heights of Cornol in Ajoie are part of a project run by the International Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences (CABI) in partnership with the Fondation rurale interjurassienne (FRI), as reported in Le Quotidien Jurassien on Tuesday.

Three of them were fitted with electric harps with alternating positive and negative wires. Asian hornets trying to cross them touch two wires and are electrocuted, while the bees, which touch only one, are unharmed.

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Three other hives have been fitted with muzzles. These are fences that placed in front of the hive entrances, where the Asian hornets like to hunt. With these devices, they can’t get near them. The bees are therefore not paralysed by their presence and can continue to forage.

Finally, no devices have been installed on three other hives. Analyses will be carried out between the hives that were fitted with harps and muzzles and those that were not.

“As part of a scientific project, we want to measure the effect of these different devices on the health of the bees, but also to see what impact they have on native species,” explains Lukas Seehausen, a research scientist at CABI, who was contacted by news agency Keystone-SDA. Tests similar to the one in Cornol are being carried out this week in nine beehives in the Jura.

A first in Switzerland

“The aim is to have real quantitative and qualitative data, showing whether one or other measure makes sense, so that we can make recommendations,” adds Seehausen. This is the first time that trials of this kind have been conducted in Switzerland. However, Seehausen points out that it is possible that individuals have already purchased such devices privately to protect their hives.

On the other hand, similar tests have been carried out in France and Spain, where the harps were used to kill hundreds of Asian hornets a day. Seehausen doesn’t necessarily think that the same will happen in the Jura, where the density is lower.

“That’s one of the points we’re going to quantify,” adds the researcher, who was keen to involve “as many people as possible” in the project. Various organisations are involved, as are students and beekeepers.

Adapted from French by DeepL/ac

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