Jersey methodology to trace hornets ‘used throughout Europe’

A technique to trace Asian hornets which was developed in Jersey is getting used throughout Europe, an knowledgeable has mentioned.

Dominique Soete, from Belgium, who has been dubbed the “hornet whisperer” due to his means to trace them, usually visits the island to assist the Jersey Asian Hornet Group.

He mentioned he’s a kind of who has adopted the “mark-release-recapture” methodology which was developed by Bob Hogge, a neighborhood beekeeper in Jersey.

He mentioned the system, dubbed “the Jersey method”, was now used within the UK, throughout Europe and even in America, though it now concerned the usage of radio tags, quite than marking the bugs.

Mr Hogge mentioned he developed the tactic over seven weeks in 2016 after the primary Asian hornets had been recognized in Jersey.

He mentioned: “It’s a simple method really, you catch the hornet, mark it and let it go and it will come back.

“It is a little more difficult than that however actually that is what it is all about.”

Mr Hogge added that others had “improved it” over the years but the method largely remains similar to his original idea.

The tracking method involves marking hornets which have been attracted to a wick-bait station and timing how long the insect takes to fly to its nest and back to the bait.

Mr Soete said a hornet’s flight time of one minute would represent a distance of 100m from the station to the nest.

He said wick-bait stations were jars which hold a sugary substance the Asian hornets are attracted to and will regularly return to eat at.

Mr Soete said the latest technology involved attaching radio tags to the hornets, instead of simply marking them. The tags send a signal to receivers so they can be followed back to their nest.

“There’s now newer know-how the place the tags are lighter, the receivers are higher,” he mentioned.

“It works with sound sign however as effectively with a color sign so then you understand during which route the hornet is flying and roughly how shut you’re.”

Addressing his nickname, Mr Soete said: “I’m considering like a hornet – why is she flying excessive? Why is she taking the flip across the tree?”

Mr Soete said he found a hornet nest within 40 minutes of arriving in Jersey for the first time.

He added that he as soon as found a nest from recognizing a hornet which was flying greater than 550m away from its hive.