Hornets hurling themselves against the windows, as if they wanted to force their way and enter the apartment. This is shown by the videos that Laëtitia sent to 20 minutes. At the beginning of September, this Parisian, who lives on the edge of Martin-Luther-King park in the 17th arrondissement, began to see more and more of them in front of her apartment and, over the days, they became more aggressive. .
“It was banging on the windows non-stop,” says Laëtitia. To the point that some were able to take advantage of a small opening second to enter. “When it comes in, it’s at breakneck speed. It looked like a beast throwing itself at its prey. The harassment that lasted for several days was so frightening that the whole family, including small children, stayed at the hotel for two weeks. Like her, other neighbors of the building have mentioned this presence of hornets and the aggressiveness they showed.
To get rid of it, Laëtitia first contacts her landlord, who mandates two companies, and she contacts a third on her side. The conclusion is unanimous, they are indeed Asian hornets and they do not nest on the facade of the building. A call to the town hall of the 17th arrondissement puts it in touch with the green spaces service, responsible for managing these issues. An agent goes to the complainant, at her request, and can only attest to her statements in front of the body of a dead hornet.
It should be discreet with winter
All eyes then turn to the park, a first search has been made and a nest has been found and destroyed. But according to Laëtitia, the hornets continued to show up around the park. After contacting several members of the municipal team, the resident received an email from Aurélie Assouline, deputy mayor of the 17th district in charge of green spaces and biodiversity, who replied that “an urgent request for research and treatment is party to the services in indication with the places ”. Unfortunately for her, the wish deposited by the assistant during the borough council of September 27 was withdrawn by the mayor “the subject being settled and dealt with” by the green space services.
If the residents fear for the children, very present in the park with many school trips, and around with nurseries and a nursery school, they can already be reassured. The traders around, contacted by 20 minutes, say they have not noticed the presence of the Asian hornet in recent days, and with the temperatures falling, it should be very discreet in the weeks to come.
Bad reputation
Above all, the Asian hornet suffers from a slightly inflated image of dangerousness and aggressiveness, since its arrival in France in 2004. “It is twice the size of a wasp, of course, but it is one of the smallest hornets. which exist, it is smaller than the European hornet ”, proclaims Quentin Rome, Asian hornet specialist at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN). According to this expert, many prejudices about the insect are false. “His ‘Asian’ name is scary because it’s exotic so we think he’s more dangerous. “He adds that the bite of the Asian hornet is no more deadly than that of a wasp:” A bite is not dangerous, except for people with allergies of course but like other bites. Likewise, he reminds us that this hornet is not the most aggressive of flying insects. Before him, he cites at least the honey bee and two species of wasps as more aggressive.
But then, why a visible aggressiveness as evidenced by Laëtitia and her neighbors? “Maybe the apartment is near a path they’re used to taking. And the presence of windows can make them believe in a shortcut. According to the specialist, it is also possible that the destruction of their nest is the cause of this nervousness. The hornets that have come out then have no shelter, panic and can in this case become aggressive: “These are the most frequent cases of attack. “
If the Asian hornet is scary, it is in particular due to its meteoric expansion since its arrival. In 10 years, he colonized almost all of French territory. Franck Courchamp, research director at the University of Paris-Saclay, and specialist in biological invasions, explains the reasons for this expansion: “The Asian hornet does not have a natural predator which makes it possible to regulate its population. In addition, he finds here a lot of resources to live and reproduce. And if he finds everything he needs, this is particularly the case in cities, such as in Paris, where garbage and other picnics offer him a wide range of choices. For Franck Courchamp, the city also offers a very large choice of places to create nests. Quentin Rome agrees, since the cities contain the favorite elements of Asian hornets for nesting: “He likes isolated trees and cliffs to make his nests. Things offered by a park and buildings. “
The Asian hornet is also the enemy of beekeepers since it also feeds on pollinators and therefore on honey bees, which, not knowing how to defend themselves against this predator, stress and end up no longer going out, thus leaving the hive to perish. A situation that does not improve its image.
A species impossible to eradicate
Quentin Rome advises all the same to destroy “entirely” a nest when it is at human height, precisely to prevent it from being damaged and provoking attacks on humans. On the other hand, for the nests which are at the top of the trees, he advises rather to leave them alone rather than to attempt something which would risk triggering the wrath of the little beasts. Likewise, individually, you must avoid sudden gestures when approaching a hornet to avoid making it feel in danger. Better to learn to live with it for the moment, because the two scientists agree on the virtual impossibility of eradicating it completely as explained by Franck Courchamp: “Ah less to find a revolutionary technique by a self-disseminating genetic means, we can only fight to prevent it from going further and its density of presence from rising too high. I do not see how to suppress a species which conquered France in 10 years from a single female. We can eliminate 99.99999% of the population, its spread could still start again. “
To help fight against its expansion, it helps to learn to recognize it – it looks like a large wasp, mostly black, with an orange ring on the abdomen, an orange face, and the tips of its legs yellow – and to report it on the portal of the National Museum of Natural History.