Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo said on Monday that his Ministry is continuing to evaluate the development of the Maltese islands' hornets and bees situation, as well as the sector's needs, and that it "is considering the implementation" of new measures.
Responding to a parliamentary question, Minister Refalo said that his Ministry is considering limiting Oriental hornet populations by potentially controlling their nests in urban areas and reducing factors that favour hornets' proliferation.
The Agriculture Ministry is also considering providing beekeepers with supportive grants to help them bolster and recover their bee colonies, he said.
Minister Refalo was asked to state what measures are being taken to control hornet populations across Malta and Gozo as their "alarming" presence is endangering local bee colonies across the country. Speaking to this newsroom in recent weeks, apiarists have described this situation as nothing short of "devastating." Some full-time beekeepers have already lost most of their hives as a result of this summer season's hornet attacks and have been raising the alarm on this for weeks.
This parliamentary question was posed by Opposition MP Ian Vassallo.
On Monday, Minister Refalo said that the Agriculture Ministry is following up on the concerns about the increasing presence of Oriental hornets and their impact on local bee colonies.
He said that the government, through this Ministry, has taken several measures over the past few years to improve awareness on this insect and to assist beekeepers. This included technical collaboration with an expert in this field; preparing and publishing informative material on identifying, controlling, and on Oriental hornets' life cycle; as well as organising training sessions for beekeepers, he said.
Another past measure conducted by the Ministry was for the design of a constructible trap to be disseminated and used locally through AgriConnect. Refalo said that this trap has been used by several apiarists to reduce pressure on Maltese honeybees.
Minister Refalo also made reference to past financial assistance schemes that were given to beekeepers as partial compensation for their financial losses and additional costs linked to damage caused by Oriental hornets. It has also supported preventive measures, such as the purchase and placement of insect traps, he said.
"The Ministry is maintaining continuous contact through established forums and through consultations with representatives of the beekeeping sector on the impact of the Oriental hornet and on the necessary measures. During these discussions, it was acknowledged that traps remain a useful tool to reduce the pressure of this insect, but they are not sufficient," Minister Refalo said.
The Minister for Agriculture continued that "control methods are mainly based on physical and preventive measures," which include using suitable traps, particularly to timely capture queens, as well as removing hornet nests appropriately.
Minister Refalo noted that leaving out animal feed or organic waste - and even simply feeding animals in public places - can attract hornets to the area and thus contribute to their increased presence and spread.
He concluded that experiences related to this situation in recent years show that "measures taken should be complemented by a more widespread and coordinated approach that also addresses the presence of the Oriental hornet in urban and residential areas."