The Guam Department of Agriculture is using technology to track down invasive greater banded hornets, which pose a threat to local honey bee hives.
With help from researchers from Washington state who battled a similar invasive species, agriculture officials are teaching beekeepers and others to capture, sedate, tag, and release the hornets.
The tiny radio tags lead the humans to the hornet nests.
Tuesday’s workshop featured a presentation by Chris Looney of the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Looney played a key role in eradicating the Murder Hornet from Washington by 2022 and shared proven strategies for detection and removal of invasive hornets.
On Wednesday, participants head to the University of Guam’s Yigo Research Station, a site currently affected by greater banded hornets. Local beekeepers, researchers, students, and officials will practice what they learned in the classroom.
Guam’s State Entomologist and Agriculture Division Chief Chris Rosario, who previously assisted in eradicating the varroa mite from the island,is now spearheading the greater banded hornet effort.
“Invasive species are already a major problem on Guam,” Rosario said. “So I feel it’s important to have this workshop, which is using the latest technology that has been proven by Washington State. This hornet tagging workshop isn’t just about tagging hornets, but it could be tagging anything in the context of addressing invasive species.”
The training is funded through the USDA Plant Protection Act Program and aims to equip the public with the skills and tools needed for invasive species tracking.
