Taking matters into own hands: Belgian beekeeper kills 1,000 Asian hornets using electric fly swatters
A beekeeper in Poperinge, a town in Belgium near the French border, has caught and killed over 1,000 Asian hornets in recent months using only a pair of electric fly swatters.
"I catch about eighteen hornets a day," explained beekeeper Charly Derycke to VRT NWS, detailing how he protects his bees from the invasive species. "For every four minutes I spend out here, I catch one. By now, I’ve killed 1,086 Asian hornets.”
Derycke’s method is strikingly unorthodox. “These hornets fly at about 30 kilometres per hour,” he said. “They circle around my hives, looking for the weakest bee. As soon as they slow down, that’s when I strike.”
“I use two electric swatters to catch them. Once I’ve hit them, I mark their thoraxes so they can’t fly again and then I freeze them," he added.
Europe must act
Poperinge lies just a few kilometres from the French border, where, according to Derycke, eradication efforts are less systematic. "In France, they don’t do much to control them, but here we try," he said. "This should be coordinated and enforced at a European level. Bee pollination alone is worth millions of euros in Belgium. It would be tragic if we ended up without fruit. Europe must act.”
The Asian hornet is a fierce predator of honey bees and other key pollinators. Originally from Southeast Asia, it has spread across large parts of Europe over the past two decades.
It is listed by the European Union as an invasive alien species of union concern, but controlling its spread has proven extremely challenging.
It is believed that the insect reached Europe accidentally in the early 2000s, likely being transported in a shipment of plant pots from eastern China. Since it was first detected in south-western France in 2004, it has rapidly colonised much of the continent, with established populations now recorded in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
While the Asian hornet is not generally more aggressive towards humans than Europe’s native hornet species, its sting or bite can still trigger serious allergic reactions. The real danger, however, lies in the species’ broader environmental and agricultural consequences.
Each colony is capable of consuming several thousand insects daily, preying on pollinators such as bumblebees, hoverflies, halictid bees, and the European honey bee. Experts caution that, without effective control, the continued spread of the Asian hornet could pose a major threat to Europe’s biodiversity and food security.
#FlandersNewsService | © IMAGEBROKER
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