If you find Asian hornet nests, you should report their presence. Counting is crucial to understanding the Vespa Velutina dynamics over the years. Depending on the country, there are different ways you can report them:
Reporting in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom seems to be the most organized country for recording Asian hornet nests. There is a single centrally managed national reporting system. Currently, the way to report any suspicion of the presence of a Vespa Velutina or a nest is through the Asian Hornet Watch App available on iOS and Android.
Other methods include:
- Sending an email to alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk with a photo attached
- Using the website of the Non-native Species Secretariat “Non-native Alert – Asian Hornet” (brc.ac.uk). All suspicions are reviewed, and if it is another species, an email is sent to inform the person, and if it is Vespa Velutina, the NBU takes over and responds according to their protocols.
Reporting in France
In France, Asian hornet nests can be reported on this page: https://lefrelon.com/signalement-frelons-asiatiques. This page is not an official service but it appears to be increasingly widely used.
Reporting in Germany
In Germany, there is no single site for the entire country. It seems that each federal state (Land) manages it separately. Here is the site for Baden-Württemberg:
- https://www.lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/natur-und-landschaft/asiatische-hornisse-melden and sightings can be viewed here
Reporting in Spain
In Spain, there is no official reporting system. However, there is a collaborative initiative at https://mapadeavispas.com. According to the website creators, “This website was created as an altruistic project, with the collaboration of a computer scientist, an entomologist, and the support of several beekeeping associations. The project was launched in August 2016.”
In Catalonia, there is a mobile app to locate Asian hornet nests at http://sitmun.org.
Do you know of other resources to report Asian hornet nests?
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