Vespula germanica (F.) is a social vespid that has invaded many parts of the world, including Argentina. This wasp usually becomes a pest, affecting several economic activities. It also may impact the host community through predation or competition. The purpose of our study was to field test toxic baiting for reduction of wasp abundance. Wasps were poisoned with 0.1% fipronil mixed with raw minced beef in two beech forest sites on 20 February 2000 in northwestern Patagonia. All nests (46) within the two 6-ha sites with poisoned bait stations were killed, whereas Malaise traps in those sites captured 81.1% fewer wasps at the end of the season than traps in the two control sites. The average reduction of forager wasps on nontoxic baits was 87%. Fipronil was very effective in controlling wasp numbers, although there are limitations to the method, especially concerning conservation purposes. Toxic baiting can be useful in controlling wasp numbers in honey bee hive yards, farms, and parks.
As a result of well-organized co-operation in controlled nuclear fusion research, each day sees the rapid spread of knowledge and results gained in this field throughout the world. Thus, the knowledge is steadily accumulating. However, perhaps for psychological reasons, views on the status of the problem change rather abruptly. With the same corpus of knowledge, we are now beginning to recognize clearly the nature of a problem which was shrouded in mist only yesterday, and yet tomorrow we may be unable to believe that the mist ever existed. One eminent English writer, I believe, neatly expressed this thought in an aphorism to the effect that every truth enjoys only a brief moment of triumph between one period during which it is rejected as a paradox and another during which it is accepted as trivial. To experience these brief moments, we gather together at IAEA Conferences which afford us so much joy.
In the early 1980s, the German wasp (Vespula germanica) arrived in Argentina and became established in northern Patagonia. We use an ecoclimatic computer-based program (CLIMEX) to predict the potential spread of wasps to other areas of the country. The model suggests that much of Argentina does not appear to be very suitable for the species' establishment. However, more suitable areas than those currently colonised by the wasp occur in the centre of the country. Based on CLIMEX results, we suggest that, if the wasps ever break through the barrier of unfavourable habitat that surrounds their current distribution, they will continue dispersing to those areas. Notwithstanding this, factors other than climate may explain why German wasps are firmly established in areas otherwise considered to be inhospitable for the species.
The International Atomic Energy Agency organizes international conferences on controlled thermonuclear fusion and plasma physics every three years. It is, however, clear that intervals of three years are very long; for this reason, the European conferences on controlled fusion and plasma physics are held in between the IAEA Conferences and have recently also acquired international status.
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