How to Raise Hornets? Detailed Breeding Methods and Techniques Shared

Everyone knows hornets are fierce and venomous, very hard to mess with, and should be given a wide berth when encountered. Yet some people not only do not avoid them, but actually raise them and reap enormous benefits from doing so. So, do you know how to raise hornets?

1. How to Raise Hornets

1. Main breeding equipment

(1) Bee cage. Made of wood or iron wire gauze, with a volume of about 0.03-0.04 cubic meters, giving them ample room to move about.

(2) Bee shed. The size depends on how many nests are to be harvested; a large glass greenhouse, a large factory building, or a dedicated bee-rearing shed can be used. The bee shed uses iron or wood as supports and iron window gauze as enclosure netting, generally with an area of about 100 sq m and a height of 2 m. Crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton that easily attract insects are planted inside the shed, and one side of the shed has a gauze door. Small dishes containing honey water, fruit, melon rinds, and other feed should be hung inside the shed so that the hornets can feed and move freely after being placed inside.

(3) Bee box. Made of wood, with side lengths of 15-20 cm, and thin wooden boards forming the top and bottom. A hook is mounted on the top, gauze windows are attached around the sides, and a movable door is left on one side.

Feed fruits, such as fully ripe apples and peaches; leafy greens with high water content; molasses; melon rinds, etc.

2. Rearing management

(1) Collection. At the end of September and the beginning of October each year, hornets begin to leave their old nests and migrate to suitable places to gather for overwintering; this is the most suitable time to collect the swarm. At night, use an insect-catching net to collect them at the overwintering site and rear them in bee cages. Place 300-500 hornets in each bee cage, cover it with black cloth to block light, and keep it in a dry, ventilated, undisturbed empty room to reduce their activity and prompt them to enter dormancy early. To avoid difficulty in finding the swarm after it leaves the nest, they can also be collected from the original nest in mid-September and placed in cages or boxes; taking advantage of the swarm's upward habit, place fully ripe apples, peaches, and leafy greens with high water content at the bottom of the cage. When the temperature is high at noon, sun them in sunlight for 3-4 h to make them active and feed, delaying dormancy; this not only supplements nutrition but also helps them overwinter safely. Hornets are semi-diapausing insects; when the temperature drops to 5°C they begin to cluster together, and the lower the temperature, the tighter the cluster; when the temperature rises slightly, the cluster loosens; when the temperature is above 7°C, they begin to disperse. The survival rate after overwintering is mainly related to how well they cluster, so during the overwintering period, inspections should be made frequently, checking the clustering condition of the boxes and cages once every 10-15 days. If dispersal is found, the temperature should be lowered in time and the light-blocking outer cover thickened.

(2) Rearing management. In early March of the second year, when the temperature rises above 10°C, the overwintering hornets begin to disperse and move about on the cage walls. At this time, feed such as apples, molasses, and steamed buns mixed with sugar should be provided immediately for artificial rearing, and feeding should continue until mid-April. Only after the hornets in the cage have flapped their wings and moved about for a period can they be released from the cage to return to nature and build nests. Artificial assisted nest-building is carried out by building a bee shed under natural conditions. When the spring temperature is steady at 13°C, the overwintering hornets begin to disperse and become active, and they can be moved into the shed at night; gently open the cage door or box lid, and the next day the hornets will fly within the shed. When the temperature is steady above 17°C, the hornets begin to enter the stage of nest-building and egg-laying. Observe at all times; when hornets are seen flying and stopping on the shed roof and the surrounding gauze netting, hang the bee cages in various places inside the shed in time, opening the cage halfway and tying it securely.

3. Pest and disease control techniques

There are many kinds of natural enemies that harm hornets, including insects, spiders, birds, and mice, as well as diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms. The most serious threat to the nest is the yellow-tailed nest moth of the family Galleriinae in the order Lepidoptera; its adults lay eggs on the nest at night, and larvae hatch after 4-5D. The larvae move through the brood cells in the nest, biting and eating hornet larvae, causing the nest to disintegrate. Moreover, nest moths prefer nighttime activity, while hornets are active during the day and lie motionless on the nest at night, allowing nest moths to lay eggs on the nest without reacting. Once nest moths invade the nest, they can cause the death of large numbers of hornets.