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LIFE STOPVESPA (LIFE14/NAT/IT/001128 STOPVESPA "Spatial containment of Vespa velutina in Italy and establishment of an Early Warning and Rapid Response System") is a European project financed by the LIFE programme of the European Commission.

The project will last 4 years, from August 2015 to July 2019.

The actions of STOPVESPA allow to collect and process information on presence and impacts of the Yellow-legged hornet, to define guidelines for the neutralization of colonial nests, to develop new monitoring techniques, to neutralize the nests, to evaluate pathways and drivers of introduction, to develop an early warning and rapid response system, to produce educational material.

The project will work closely with local and national institutions and with beekeeper associations to ensure the activation of a monitoring network and emergency plans. The Department of Electronics and Telecommunications and the Polytechnic University of Turin will also develop an entomological radar to track the hornets flying back to their nests so as to detect them.

The partners of STOPVESPA are:

  • University of Turin – Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Science
  • Polytechnic University of Turin – Department of Electronics and Telecommunications
  • Beekeeping Association in Piedmont – ASPROMIELE Piemonte
  • The apiary of the Abbazia dei Padri Benedettini Santa Maria di Finalpia

The project is also supported by:

  • Ministry of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea
  • Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)
  • Regione Piemonte and Regione Liguria
  • 2 National Beekeeping Associations (AAPI, UNAAPI)
  • Federazione Provinciale Coldiretti Cuneo
  • 3 Local Beekeeping Associations (Apiliguria, ALPA Miele, Agripiemonte Miele)
  • WWF Italy and Pronatura National Federation.