"Massacre" of millions of honey bees Asian hornets destroy beekeeper's life's work
A beekeeper from Switzerland is facing the ruins of his work after Asian hornets destroyed his bee colonies. He is calling for more support in the fight against the invasive species.
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- An attack by Asian hornets has massively decimated beekeeper Patrick Gubler's colonies.
- Despite notifying the authorities, Gibler received no rapid support.
- In Switzerland, there was a lack of resources such as tracking devices and structural organization to combat the hornets.
Just a few weeks ago, Patrick Gubler was the proud owner of 45 bee colonies with almost three million insects. But an attack by Asian hornets has almost wiped out his hives. The beekeeper is desperate and angry about the lack of support from the authorities, as he told "20 Minuten".
It all began on October 8, when Gubler noticed that his bees were in turmoil. Asian hornets had set their sights on his colonies and were attacking them in swarms. "It was a massacre, I can't describe it any other way," he tells "20 Minuten".
Despite his quick reaction and reporting the incident to the relevant authorities, he did not receive any immediate help. The search for the hornet's nest proved to be difficult and time-consuming, as the necessary resources such as tracking devices were lacking.
Surviving bees had to be killed
Gubler tried to protect his bees by moving them to another location and setting up nets and traps. But the hornets continued their attack and within a few days he lost 25 of his honey colonies. The remaining bees were so weakened that they became susceptible to disease. This forced Gubler to kill the animals to prevent them from spreading.
The financial damage is considerable: replacing his colonies would cost up to 20,000 francs, a sum he cannot afford. Gubler criticizes the fact that the fight against the Asian hornet is left to beekeepers' associations, which often do not have the necessary resources. He calls for more state support to protect bees and thus also the environment.
Fabian Trüb from the Bee Health Service explains that hornet control is currently inadequately organized. There is a lack of financial resources and professional structures to effectively combat the threat. Gubler hopes that the situation will improve so that he and other beekeepers do not face such a disaster again.
This article was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). All content created by AI is verified by the editorial team.