Velutina Wasp Selective Trap Beevital®

01 · HOW IT HOLDS THEM

The light, not the liquid

The hornet arrives on the smell, but what takes it to the bottom is the light chamber: it goes in looking for the lit way out and ends up in the collection containers, from which it does not find the way back. The insect never comes into contact with the attractant, so the trap neither fouls nor turns into a soup. Bees and small insects that get in by mistake come back out through the openings: that is the selective part.

02 · FILLING IT

400 ml, and keep the level up

The first charge is around 400 ml of attractant in the reservoir, a little over half. From then on the job is keeping the level up: in the heat it evaporates fast, and a half-dry trap stops calling — which is the usual reason behind "it catches nothing". Check it every few days in high summer, not every month.

03 · WHERE AND WHEN

In the shade, and in the two windows that matter

Hang it by its cord near the apiary and in the shade, on the line where you see the hornets passing and away from direct sun. The two most productive spells are late winter and the start of spring — every founder queen caught is a nest that never gets built — and autumn, with the queens already mated. In the middle of the season it catches workers and eases the pressure on the entrances.

04 · EMPTYING IT

Turn thirty degrees, look, and let go

The collection containers come off by turning them about 30°, without dismantling the whole trap. Before you empty it, look at what is inside: the European hornet is a useful insect, bigger and with a yellow and reddish-brown abdomen, and it is worth releasing rather than counting as a catch. And do not leave the trap full and forgotten: a saturated chamber stops taking catches.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The liquid attractant is bought separately. A commercial wasp attractant works, and so does a homemade mix; what does not work is leaving the reservoir empty.