Effectiveness and non-target effects of spring trapping for Asian hornet management

The Asian hornet is present in Europe since 2004. The species is listed on the list of species of EU concern (European Regulation 1143/2014) and has been present in Flanders since 2017. Since then, it greatly increased in numbers despite intensive management efforts. Nest control is the only effective population-level management method. The popularity of other management methods such as selective traps in spring for capturing queens (better known as spring trapping) is increasing. Beekeepers are calling for these traps and are rolling out a network of traps across Flanders. The effects of large-scale deployment of these traps on local biodiversity are largely unknown. The efficiency of this management method at population level is also unknown to date. This project is running in collaboration with vzw Limburgse Imkerbond, ANB, Natuurpunt Studie and a network of volunteers willing to set traps via MijnTuinlab.