From Asia to Europe, based in France, then in Liguria and entering Piedmont from the Cuneo area. Now, she has also arrived in Turin. First sighting of the feared Vespa Velutina, whose nest was also reported for the first time near the regional capital.
It is a very dangerous and very feared animal, especially by beekeepers, because it massacres bees, of which it is very greedy. So much so that they build their own home a short distance from the hives and wait for their victims as if in an ambush. When the bees realize the threat, the only defensive behavioral reaction is to no longer leave the hive, thus compromising all their vital activities, including honey production.
It has been present in Italy since 2012. The first adult individual was captured in Liguria in Loano. The first nests were found in 2013, in western Liguria and in the province of Cuneo. But there are already those who have moved to remedy the situation: the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta has conducted an experimental project aimed at combating this particular “hornet”, which was financed by the Ministry of agriculture, food sovereignty and forests, and is based on an integrated pest control method.
The method allows neutralizing wasp nests through the single treatment of wasp specimens captured during predatory activity in the hives. After being safely processed and then released, the wasps reach their nest again, bringing it to complete neutralization. The results of the tests demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatments, both by directly observing the effects on a nest located near an apiary, and in the apiaries subject to the treatment and in the surrounding ones, also highlighting how even the colonies of wild or unmanaged bees and other insects prey to Vespa velutina derive an indirect benefit.
The particular predatory behavior of the insect suggests that a possible application of the Method on entire territorial areas could lead to a total neutralization of the nests present. A fully automated device is currently under construction. It is a treatment station capable of carrying out a selective intervention that does not require the constant presence of the operator. This device could also be placed far from apiaries, in application of a control plan or, given the demonstrated effectiveness, of an eradication plan in areas of new infestation.
This tool would significantly contribute to countering the advance of Vespa velutina with a view above all to an integrated fight under the control of the relevant bodies.
