Tartago® dry harp for Asian hornet, 60 cm

01 · HOW IT WORKS

It works without attractant: it goes in the flight path

The harp uses no attractant, light or bait. The Asian hornet hunts by lying in wait, hovering in front of the entrances and moving from one to the next, so the harp goes between two neighbouring hives, at right angles to their fronts: the hornet crosses the wires, while the bees fly straight out without passing through. The discharge can stun a hornet that touches two wires and drop it into the hopper. The 20 mm spacing helps bees get through, but does not rule out bycatch. If it catches little, watch the hornets' flight path and check the power supply, connectors, clean insulators and wire spacing.

02 · NO WATER

The hopper does the tray's job

What falls after the discharge does not go into a water tray: the base has a hopper that collects it dry. There is no water to top up or soap to add, and the harp does not need to be perfectly level, which is the hard part in an apiary out in the field. A bee that falls in by accident gets out through escape holes the hornet cannot pass through.

The hornet stays in the hopper and, with no water to drown it, may still be alive: check it often and do not release it or carry it alive, as it is an invasive alien species.

It does not need a bottle, but there is room for one if pressure is very high and the hopper falls short. The bottle is not included: the instructions explain how to make one from a plastic bottle, with its own bee escape, because a bee that goes into the bottle cannot come back.

How it compares with the water-tray harp:

Everything else is the same: 60 cm wide, 0.35 mm stainless wire at 20 mm and the same electric modules.

03 · BUILD

Insulators designed to work in the rain

It has a 1 mm stainless steel frame, 0.35 mm stainless steel wire and individual tensioning that holds the 20 mm between wires. The insulators are PCB, designed to keep working in the rain. It arrives as a kit, with instructions and assembly videos, and goes together without special tools.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It needs a Tártago electric unit: the 15 W solar one, which runs on daylight; the solar one with lithium battery, which keeps working without sun; or the universal one, powered by USB. Each drives up to five harps, the most Tártago recommends so as not to lose catching power. If your unit or extensions are from 2024 or earlier, ask us before ordering: 2024 ones need a connector adapter. And it helps to know what it is: protection for the apiary, not eradication. It can reduce attacks at the entrance, depending on installation and management; it does not remove the hornet from the area.