This first roundup covers the past three weeks. In France, the national plan against the Asian hornet is now official. On the research side, a German study compares four Varroa control strategies over a full season, and a US team estimates the real risk from pesticide residues trapped in beeswax.
In brief
- Asian hornet, France: the national control plan has been published in the Official Journal; each département must draw up its own plan within six months.
- Varroa: biotechnical management and the Baden-Württemberg organic concept gave the most consistent late-summer mite reduction, with no measurable effect on colony strength.
- Wax and pesticides: at the levels reported in the literature, six common residues do not appear to threaten adult bee survival.
- United Kingdom: 212 credible yellow-legged hornet sightings and 74 nests found in 2026 as of 1 October.
- New Zealand: the national American foulbrood plan, in place since 1998, is being updated.
France: the national Asian hornet control plan is official
The joint order of the French environment and agriculture ministries adopting the national plan against the yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) was published in the Official Journal on 16 September 2026. The starting point is that the species is present in every mainland département and eradication is no longer feasible, so the aim is to limit its impact on beekeeping, public health and biodiversity. The plan has three strands: research and communication, organisation of control, and governance. Départements are classified into four levels by nest density, with measures matched to each level (nest destruction, spring trapping of foundress queens, reducing stress on colonies). Prefects must produce a departmental plan within six months. The annexes recommend selective traps, advise against non-selective ones, and describe destroying nests after the foundresses have left, around mid-November, as pointless. See the Asian hornet page.
Source: Arrêté du 9 septembre 2026 portant adoption du plan national de lutte contre le frelon asiatique à pattes jaunes (NOR: TECL2609035A), Journal officiel no. 216, 16 September 2026. aida.ineris.fr/node/46474
Varroa: four control strategies compared over one season
Leon M. Reinhold and Kirsten S. Traynor (University of Hohenheim) followed four season-long Varroa management strategies that differed in spring drone-brood management and late-summer treatment: synthetic treatment alone without drone-brood removal; the Baden-Württemberg organic concept; an integrated oxalic acid “split and treat” strategy; and a biotechnical approach combining systematic drone-brood removal with queen confinement. Intensive drone-brood removal held back seasonal mite growth, whereas synthetic-only colonies exceeded treatment thresholds by mid-summer. The biotechnical approach and the Baden-Württemberg concept gave the most consistent late-summer mite reduction. Colony strength, worker emergence weight, fat body reserves and virus prevalence did not differ between groups, and no honey yield differences were detected. The authors note that the number of colonies per group limits this exploratory analysis, which applies to temperate Central Europe. See the Varroa mites and varroosis page.
Source: Reinhold L. M., Traynor K. S. (2026). Comparison of nonchemical, organic and synthetic Varroa destructor control strategies in honey bee colonies: effects on parasite load, colony strength and health. Pest Management Science. doi.org/10.1002/ps.71364
Pesticide residues in beeswax: low risk to adult bees
Beeswax absorbs fat-soluble compounds, including many agricultural insecticides and Varroa acaricides, which can then slowly leach back into the nest. Louise Petit, Cameron J. Jack and James D. Ellis (University of Florida) used laboratory cage assays to measure the toxicity to adult bees of six residues frequently found in wax: coumaphos, amitraz, acrinathrin, chlorpyrifos, chlorfenvinphos and bifenthrin. The toxicity ranking through wax did not match earlier topical or oral studies; chlorpyrifos was the most toxic and amitraz the least. Combined with published residue levels, coumaphos posed the highest relative risk and bifenthrin the lowest. The authors conclude that at the concentrations reported in the literature, these compounds do not appear to threaten bee survival. Limitations: laboratory assays, adult bees only (not brood), survival as the only endpoint, with no sublethal effects or mixtures tested. See the Pesticide poisoning page.
Source: Petit L., Jack C. J., Ellis J. D. (2026). The risk posed by exposure to pesticides through beeswax to adult western honey bees (Apis mellifera). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. doi.org/10.1093/etojnl/vgag262
United Kingdom: 74 Asian hornet nests found in 2026
As of 1 October 2026, the APHA National Bee Unit reports 212 credible yellow-legged hornet sightings in the UK since the start of the year, and 74 nests found. Most nests are in Kent, followed by Hampshire, Surrey and East Sussex; a few isolated nests have turned up further north, in Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and Lincolnshire. The UK continues to pursue interception and nest destruction, whereas France has accepted that eradication is no longer possible. The figures also reflect surveillance effort and public reporting, and the page is a rolling update that will change. See the Asian hornet page.
Source: APHA National Bee Unit (2026). Yellow-legged hornet rolling update (as of 1 October 2026). nationalbeeunit.com
New Zealand: national American foulbrood plan updated
On 1 October 2026, New Zealand’s Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard announced that the government is going ahead with changes to the National American Foulbrood Pest Management Plan, in place since 1998 and based on destroying infected hives. The changes follow proposals developed and consulted on by the industry: more accurate identification of colonies and laboratory samples, more thorough reporting when hive ownership changes, and new enforcement tools for repeat offences, with advice and assistance remaining the first step. The minister describes them as improvements rather than a major redesign, aimed at finding and containing the disease faster without adding cost and paperwork. The announcement gives no timeline or cost figures. See the American foulbrood page.
Source: New Zealand Government, Minister for Biosecurity (1 October 2026). Certainty for beekeepers on local American foulbrood management. insidegovernment.co.nz