Capture queens

Spring trapping via MijnTuinlab

Image by INBO
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This project starts on March 1, 2025! Sharing your traps with your municipality or beekeeping association? Refer to the MijnTuinlab project for the registration point of catches and bycatches, contributing to research on these spring traps!

The active capture of queens in spring (March - May) is one of the most commonly used methods for combating the Asian hornet in Europe. However, it is also controversial for the following reasons:

  1. The effect of spring traps on the number of nests in autumn has not been proven.
  2. Capturing queens in spring only reduces competition among queens. A nest site of a captured queen will simply be taken over by another queen.
  3. A selective trap is not truly selective. Native insects can still get caught in the traps. In spring, the risk of harming native biodiversity is higher as many queens of native species are also searching for nest sites.
  4. Protection near beehives (harps, queen excluders, capturing during June-November) is more effective in reducing the impact on honeybees.
  5. The only proven method to combat the Asian hornet is the destruction of nests.

For these reasons, the placement of spring traps is discouraged. It is only justified within a research context. Would you like to contribute to research on the effectiveness and selectivity of selective traps? Be sure to join the initiative below.

Study on Effectiveness and Bycatch

  • Measurement is knowledge. Through this study, we aim to learn more about the spring traps (‘spring trapping’) for queens of Asian hornets.
  • This will help determine if they work and what other insects may potentially be impacted.
  • This research is an initiative of the Limburgse Imkersbond vzw in collaboration with Vespawatch (INBO) and ANB.

Who can participate?

  • Anyone motivated to contribute to our research!
    • This study runs from March 1 to May 31, 2025, but contributing for a shorter period is also very valuable.
  • Anyone who has a selective Asian hornet trap at home.
    • This is a trap in which insects cannot drown. Prevent insects from drowning by shielding the bait from the insects in the trap. Do this, for example, using:
      • A sponge
      • A mesh divider between the liquid and the entry
      • A wick container in the trap
      • Absorbent clay granules
    • A selective trap is equipped with an access grid with holes of varying sizes:
      • Insects larger than the Asian hornet cannot enter the trap.
      • Insects smaller than the Asian hornet can leave the trap.
Figure 1

Example of a non-selective trap in which insects drown. ©INBO

Figure 2

Example of a selective trap, with absorbent clay granules. ©INBO

What do we expect from you?

Follow these instructions carefully:

  • Place the trap in your garden from March 1 to May 31 (preferably in a flower-rich environment, in the shade, and out of the rain). In spring, queens have a strong preference for blossoms such as cotoneaster.
  • Register once for the project. During registration, mark the location of your trap and define the type of trap.
  • Check the trap as often as possible (preferably daily, but at least twice a week).
  • During each inspection:
    • Record your catch in MijnTuinlab (even if the trap is empty!). Recording an absence of catches is important to better assess selectivity.
    • Curious about what has been caught? Use the app ObsIdentify.
    • Did you find an Asian hornet?
      • Place the trap in the freezer.
      • After a few minutes, the hornet will be stunned, and you can release other insects from the trap without the hornet escaping.
      • Use a fork to transfer the hornet into another container, which you then place in the freezer for several hours.
    • Empty the trap so that live insects are released.
    • Place the trap back in its original location.
  • Always remove your trap after May 31. At the start of summer, Asian hornet queens no longer leave their nests and cannot be caught. From that point, use the wick pot method to locate nests.

How to participate?

Participation is simple with this step-by-step plan:

  • Register for the Spring Trapping Asian Hornet 2025 project via MijnTuinlab.
  • Record your catches in MijnTuinlab, preferably daily, but at least twice a week. (link available from March 1, 2025)