But one colony in St Brelade has spent recent days being treated to a diet of cod, prawns and steak… all in the name of research.
Over the last few years volunteers have been seeking and removing nests, often using a commercial bait to lure the insects to give away the location of their home.
Now beekeeper Bob Hogge is experimenting with a range of alternative attractants from meat and fish to honey and fruit – and even liqueurs.
‘What I am doing now is looking to the future,’ said Mr Hogge.
‘The government has been supplying us with wasp attractant but, given the crisis and the budget cuts, this probably won’t go on forever.
‘So I am trialling different attractants from foodstuffs and things you find in the house and hopefully by the end of the summer I will have a good idea about which works best,’ he added.
Honey cappings – the thin layer of wax over the top of honey in a nest – has proved to be a popular snack for the hornets at the test nest at Portelet Common, attracting more hornets than the commercial bait.
Prawns and cod had a reasonable response, but the insects much preferred cubes of stewing steak.
‘This really got them going – they showed a lot of interest in this,’ said Mr Hogge.
The beekeeper has also tried tinned tuna, which didn’t work particularly well, and pear, which received a mixed response.
He also tried banana – as banana liqueur has worked well for some beekeepers in the past – but the hornets showed almost no interest.
Last year volunteers said that the insects are seemingly fond of beer, particularly dark, hoppy ales.
The Portelet hornets may have eaten better than the average Islander during the last few weeks, but the banquet has come to an end.
The nest – a small primary nest – was destroyed yesterday before its well-fed inhabitants had the chance to go off and form a much bigger secondary nest.
So far this year 42 flying queen hornets have been reported, compared to 68 by this time last year.
Nine primary nests have been discovered, five fewer than the total by this point in 2019.
Islanders are being urged to look out for the small primary nests, particularly in outbuildings.
To report a nest email asianhornet@gov.je, ideally with a picture, or phone 441633.
