After identifying the sex pheromone of these insects, French and Chinese researchers obtained promising results by testing it as bait.
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Work that could save lives. French and Chinese researchers have identified the sex pheromone of the Asian hornet, according to the results of their study published in the journal Entomology Generalis, Monday, February 7. This discovery gives hope for the next development of a trap against this insect, which eats bees and can prove fatal for humans.
When testing the pheromone as a bait, the scientists found that it “could attract many males during the breeding period of the species and thus drive them away from future queens at the origin of new colonies”explains the University of Tours, involved in the project.
A trap against this invasive hornet would “to capture these males in large numbers before they can mate with future hornet queens”. Therefore, it would be “conceivable to imagine eventually a decrease in the number of colonies of Asian hornets on the ground or less populous colonies”.
The University of Tours recalls that the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) “is known for the devastation it causes on bee colonies, on biodiversity and the accidents it causes each year. Many people are stung and some die of it”.