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11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2026 FEATURE Beekeepers warn over Malta's hornet crisis cided to focus their attacks on queen hornets in a new tactic to reduce their population. But this didn't last long, and num- bers started exploding again. And that brings us to today. 5,000 cases and no more bees This year, Sciberras took on over 5,000 cases of oriental hornet infestations in Maltese neighborhoods, and this is after rejecting hundreds more be- cause he doesn't have enough staff to take on demand. "Otherwise, we could've done 2,000 more," Sciberras said, adding that his company has been working 24-hour days lately. The ministry confirmed that available information points to a marked increase in hornet activity in recent years despite ongoing control efforts. It cau- tioned, however, that sightings, trapping figures and nest-re- moval reports do not amount to a standardised population count. And, in case you'd like some official numbers, the ministry also stressed that figures sub- mitted by individual beekeep- ers or pest-control operators should be treated only as local observations rather than as a national estimate. No official numbers exist. Remember our beekeeper, Jorge Spiteri? He's seen the consequences first-hand. No, literally, he's been stung three times this year. Twice of which he described as deliberate at- tacks. After a bite, you'll get sick and you won't know why, Spiteri noted. Not a great situ- ation to find yourself in. While acknowledging that oriental hornets are indigenous to the Maltese islands, Spi- teri insisted that the rate at which their numbers are growing, along with their in- c r e a s i n g l y a g g r e s s i v e behavior, is far from nor- mal. His theory is that hornets be- come much more aggressive in large numbers, and particularly more so once they secure a steady source of food. As hunt- ers, that spot becomes their territory, and anything that comes close becomes a threat. "To be fair, they are trying to defend their 'home,'" Spiteri said compassionately. Even Sciberras noted that hornets also pollinate at certain times of the year, but that doesn't mean it's not a problem. "I might end up without bees," Spiteri remarked. "And government is doing nothing." In fact, Sciberras estimates that there will be no more bees in Malta within two to five years. Malta lost this battle, he explained, because it chose not to act in advance. "I've been saying the same thing for 15 years," Sciberras said. "They will all be dead." In turn, Sciberras believes that the apiculture industry will also be over within five years. Five, he said with regret, might even be an exaggeration. "And government does noth- ing." Although that would be rea- son enough to take the hornet problem seriously, the consequenc- es don't end with b e e k e e p - ers, or with bees. S p i t e r i w a r n e d that a seri- ous decline in bee populations would also affect pollination and, conse- quently, Malta's ability to pro- duce certain fruits, vegetables and flowers locally. "We will have to import more bees and it'll get more expen- sive because companies will know we are dependent on them," he said. "But this is not just about beekeepers; food will be more expensive for every- one." Why so many hornets? So, we know Malta's losing all its bees to oriental hornets, and we know exterminators are dealing with thousands of cases a year. We know the ministry has no solid numbers. But why the hell are there so many hor- nets? Well, according to our bee- keeper, the problem is closely linked to Malta's rising popula- tion, like so many of the pres- sures the country has faced in recent years. While the population con- tinues to grow, infrastructure drags slowly behind. And, as Spiteri pointed out, everyone generates waste which, for hor- nets, is dinner. The large number of aban- doned buildings across the is- lands does not exactly help ei- ther. Once again, Sciberras agreed. He pointed to overpopulation, along with the consequent ex- cessive and uncontrolled waste generation which then takes far too long to be collected. Sciberras also highlighted Malta's uncontrolled con- struction industry, which has recently converted from limestone to concrete. Unlike limestone, concrete walls have cavities, which Sciberras noted make for the ideal spot for hor- net nests. Additionally, Sciberras stressed that people leaving out excess food is only adding to the problem, attracting hor- nets, rats, and even hedgehogs, who Sciberras said are becom- ing obese from all the food. But that's a whole different story. Traps and EU funds Let's fly back to 2023 one more time. Following a dev- astating 2022 hornet season, during which local apiarists estimated that 70% of beehives were decimated, the Coalition for the Conservation of the Maltese Honey Bee launched a public petition calling for ac- tion. By February 2023, Agricul- ture Minister Anton Refalo officially launched the Finan- cial Incentive to Beekeepers Scheme, administered through the Agriculture Directorate and Agriculture and Rural Pay- ments Agency. The scheme's purpose was to compensate beekeepers for losses and support preventive measures against the increased oriental hornet population, including its main measure— traps. However, despite the scheme's €70,000 budget, that didn't exactly happen. Beyond the €70,000 Finan- cial Incentive to Beekeepers Scheme, government also re- ceived over €26,000 as part of an EU budget for combatting beehive invaders, according to Nationalist MEP Peter Agius. Agius claimed that, of the €26,000 sum, government has only used €3,546. He insisted that, had government not left EU funding unused, the "mas- sacre" of bees by swarms of ori- ental hornets could have been prevented. "The money they give us is for nothing," Spiteri said, claiming that funds intended for hornet traps are instead being pocket- ed by some recipients. It would be a whole lot smarter if gov- ernment just handed out traps instead of cheques. "I know people who left their number of bees undeclared af- ter they lost all of them so they are given the same amount of money next time. Government is just buying them out," he said. And Sciberras agrees. "As far as I know the government gave nothing," he said. "People use privately homemade traps, which I always tell people not to use because they can collect unwanted species." At the very least, Sciberras believes the measure was left half-baked. Sciberras sells his own hornet traps to clients dealing with an infestation. "It's better for me to keep selling my product," Sciberras said. "But I'm a biol- ogist at heart, and what's the point of making money while Malta's biodiversity is being destroyed?" And that is a question with no answer yet. A hive of bees destroyed by an oriental hornet attack (Photo: Jorge Spiteri) Oriental hornets often build their nests in wall cavities (Photo: Facebook/The Exterminator)