## 1 Introduction  
The Asian hornet (_Vespa velutina_) is indigenous to Southeast Asia and has invaded several countries where it is becoming increasingly common [1]. It arrived in Europe through France in 2004 [2] and has spread to Navarra, Spain (2010) [3], Minho, Portugal (2011) [4], Belgium (2011) [5], Italy (2012) [6], Germany (2014) [7], Great Britain (2016) [8], The Netherlands (2017) [9], Switzerland (2017) [10], Luxembourg (2020) [11], Czechia (2023) [12], and Austria (2024) [13]. Surveillance has become mandatory in the EU as the Asian hornet (AH) is listed as an invasive alien species of Union concern through the EU Regulation 1141/2016 [14]. The AH predates on the honeybee (_Apis mellifera_) and has become a major concern for its capacity to destroy apiaries [15]. It has become an invasive species without competitors or natural predators in Europe and has negatively impacted biodiversity [16], the economy [17], and human health [18]. In temperate regions, the AH life cycle is annual, due to food scarcity and the cold in winter, making it difficult to maintain social life throughout the year [19]. The life cycle includes four main phases starting from the founding of the colony, the growth phase, the reproduction phase, and the intermediate phases, including the queen's diapause time [20]. In Europe, the first queens are generally observed in February when temperatures rise. After winter, they begin the biological cycle by building the primary nest around March. As the colony expands, the number of workers increases reaching its maximum size at the end of the summer season [19; 20]. The greatest predation of honeybees is recorded during this stage, and the honeybee is a major contributor to the AH diet. The colony can potentially produce thousands of sterile workers, responsible for feeding the colony [19]. With this population growth, they abandon the primary nest to build a larger secondary nest. These nests, spherical and pear-shaped, can measure up to 100 cm in diameter and are mostly built in natural structures, namely in the tops of trees, and constitute the structures normally observed and reported [21]. At this stage, the wasps' development time of the larvae also decreases, taking just 29 days to become a medium-sized worker compared to the 50 days needed in a primary nest [22]. Hence the greater protein needs and honeybee predation, and one AH nest may be responsible for the capture of up to 25 to 50 honeybees daily [23]. In autumn, the dynamics of the colony begin to change, resulting in a gradual reduction in the number of workers. During this period of decline, new queens and males emerge, leaving the nest to mate. The founding queens, after mating, disperse, usually alone or accompanied by two or three individuals, to find a suitable place to survive the winter, while the rest of the colony dies. At the beginning of the following spring, these new queens, who previously mated, are the only survivors, ready to start new colonies and restart the cycle [19; 20]. To control the AH, a variety of techniques have been tested, and the most commonly used include nest destruction and trapping using traps with an attractant [2]. The use of traps is the first method used against invasive wasps and intense capture campaigns have been created, often supported by beekeepers and local governments, to reduce the population and minimise their effects [2]. Traps can be commercial or homemade, with specific attractants for each stage of the wasp cycle [20]. During the primary nesting phase, food baits with sugar solutions are most effective [24; 25], while during the secondary nesting phase, wasps seek out protein-rich foods [26; 27]. In the spring, the objective is to capture the founding queens, responsible for the primary nest, while in the summer, the objective is to capture the workers originating from the secondary nest [26; 28]. Capturing workers does not solve the problem; however, it helps to reduce predation pressure on apiaries and is also helpful for the mandatory monitoring within the EU.