Overview

• Bavaria’s state government has approved a €700,000, three-year action plan to slow the spread of the invasive Asian hornet.
• The plan creates a coordinating office at the Institute for Beekeeping and Imkerei of the Landesanstalt für Weinbau und Gartenbau, expands the beewarned.de reporting platform and provides training and funding for nest removal.
• Saxony’s environmental authority reports no confirmed nests yet, but a NABU entomologist says establishment is only a matter of time.
• The Naturschutzbund Deutschland has launched a nationwide hornet-count campaign urging residents to photograph and report sightings while maintaining a safe distance.
• Beekeepers and fruit growers face mounting pressure as Vespa velutina preys on honeybees and damages orchards and vineyards.