The Coalition for the Conservation of the Maltese Honeybee has launched a petition to draw authorities’ attention to the hornet infestations plaguing countless beekeepers.

The petition was launched earlier this month with the aim of gathering 500 signatures. As of today, just under 400 individuals have signed the petition.

“Hornets (Vespa orientalis) pose a threat to the general public, to beekeeping, and therefore, to the Maltese Honeybee (Apis mellifera ruttneri). Immediate action needs to be taken by governmental entities with full co-operation from relevant NGOs,” the Coalition wrote.

“The Coalition for the Conservation of the Maltese Honeybee has, therefore, launched this petition to rally the public’s support against this real and current problem. This petition will be passed on to governmental entities,” it continued.

This organisation has been very vocal about the harm hornets are causing to the local beekeeping community, with a single hornet being capable of killing ’40 bees every day’.

Videos posted by the coalition earlier this month show hornets infiltrating beehives and causing havoc.

“No beekeeper can solve this problem on their own, and for this reason we will keep insisting that an action plan is needed on a national level,” the organisation wrote.

One of the ways beekeepers can protect their colonies from hornets is by raising endemic Maltese honeybees, i.e. Apis melliferi ruttneri. This species, the coalition had said, has developed a strategy that allows it to defend itself against as well as attack and kill the Oriental Hornet.

Koalizzjoni ghall-Konservazzjoni tan-Nahla Maltija / Facebook