February Meeting

Speaker: Tom Bickerdike (RBI) will give an update on Yellow Legged Hornet (YLH)

This is a very important meeting.

Thank you for all your time last year.

Our collective effort suggests that we are holding nest numbers in check:

(35 nests destroyed in ’23   7 in ’24 – low because of poor weather   38 nests in ’25).

DEFRA is still working towards eradication. With new technology it is now easier for NBU inspectors to track the nests and when ‘Buzz Copper’ is rolled out, hopefully later this year, it will help make monitoring easier in those remote areas. Neighbouring BKA’s are also working hard and this explains why the total number of nests found last year dramatically increased. Countrywide momentum is building, particularly in the south and London areas. And in November members voted at our AGM to continue to support the strategy used over the last 2 years.

So, please do your best to attend this meeting. It is the one opportunity your YLH team have to get everything in place for the coming year. The ‘icing on the cake’ will be Tom’s presentation.

Without this collective effort of all members, it is not worth doing anything at the Association level – we would merely be delaying the inevitable. Like France, it would then be ‘every beekeeper for themselves’. Projecting forward, with no collective effort, nest numbers in Kent have been estimated at 17 000 or more; this would inevitably change the face of beekeeping.

Jackie Thomas, Master Beekeeper   YLH coordinator & Education Officer for DDBKA