Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1547002
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2026 FEATURE 'They will all be dead': Beekeepers Beekeepers fear they will soon lose all their bees to oriental hornets, while exterminators warn Malta's bee population may have no more than five years left. But how did the country's hornet problem get this bad? ORIENTAL hornets are back and badder than ever this year. Actually, they have been like this every year for the past decade and there is little government handouts can do about it. For beekeepers, this year's surge is exposing just how far the situation has spun out of control. For hornets, Malta has become Renaissance Florence. As omnivorous sun-loving in- sects, oriental hornets are just as much a fan of September on the Maltese islands as bright- red British tourists walking aimlessly through the streets of Valletta. Hornets, however, have a bit of a browner hue. Their favourite food is rotting flesh, your organic waste bag, and other insects—especially bees! Hornets also really love fruit and sugary treats. So yes, their taste palate ranges from a dead rat to gummy bears. Hornets also love to build their nests in concrete. In wall cavities, crevices between the limestone rocks forming part of bastions, or hidden within rubble walls. All of that being said, if you had to think like an oriental Hornet, you've got to under- stand why an overdeveloped, waste-drowned, blistering hot island like Malta is something of a heaven on earth for the in- sect right now. And it always has been, even before the concrete jungle and chronic garbage problem. Ori- ental hornets are indigenous to the islands. In its latest count, which is quite vague, the Agriculture Ministry confirmed that the most significant part of Mal- ta's hornet problem concerns nests established in urban and residential areas. But is that en- tirely true? I spoke to Executive Board Member European Beekeep- ing Association Jorge Spiteri, a beekeeper, who told me that, year after year, he has lost all his bees in Żejtun, Rabat, and Floriana to vicious hornet at- tacks. This year, he said good- bye to his bees in Madliena too. In total, Spiteri estimates that hornets feasted on 16 of his bee colonies in 2026. "Probably more," he said, adding that he has never experienced prob- lems at this scale in his 13 years as a beekeeper. In 2023, government launched a financial aid scheme to help beekeepers purchase equip- ment to trap oriental hornet queens in an effort to protect and rebuild Malta's bee popu- lation. However, Spiteri warned that the situation seems to only get worse. Four years later, Mal- tese bees remain a vulnerable and naïve prey, while reports of oriental hornets continue to skyrocket. I also spoke to Arnold Sciber- ras, owner of The Extermina- tor, a pest control company. "I have a long history with hor- nets…" he told me, and began to recount the story of Malta's hornet problem. The story of Malta's hornet problem Sciberras began the tale in the 1950s, when oriental hornets were first recorded as a species in Malta. However, they didn't really seem to be an issue since nobody complained about them until recently. In 1989, the Red Data Book was released, listing the species as endangered. Pretty crazy to think about, right? In fact, ori- ental hornets didn't really exist or were quite rare until the year 2000. By 2004, Sciberras said the sight of an oriental hornet be- gan becoming more common. By 2011, he noted a large col- ony around Floriana and Gżira. At this point, Sciberras decided it was time to contact the au- thorities. And he did. Sciberras warned that these hornets would soon start attacking bees, and urged the authorities to act fast. However, oriental hornets had not yet discovered their love of bees for dinner and, according to Sciberras, the authorities didn't seem to care. "Then," he said, "it became bees." The oriental hornet popula- tion began to explode out of control and started having a re- al effect on apiculture. But the real point that pushed the cri- sis beyond return was between 2020 and 2022, Sciberras said. "I saw situations where I was killing up to four thousand hornets in one hive," he said. "It's mind-blowing." By 2024, exterminators de- EVA BRANNON ebrannon@mediatoday.com.mt The oriental hornet is indigenous to the Maltese islands (Photo: Facebook/ The Exterminator) Dead Maltese honeybees collected by The Exterminator (left) and found by beekeeper Jorge Spiteri (right)