Three overwintered colonies of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) were collected in Palmerston North, New Zealand, during December 1993 and January 1994. Nest size ranged from 12-14 combs and 14 930-24 321 cells, making them larger than annual colonies at that time of year. Although one of the colonies was producing drones, none of the nests contained any queen cells, indicating that all were behaving more as asynchronous annual colonies rather than as true perennial ones. Overwintering by common wasps has been reported previously in beech forests containing honeydew near Nelson, but not in urban areas of Nelson or Christchurch. Honeydew is not available in urban Palmerston North and so cannot be a requirement for overwintering by V. vulgaris. The severity of winters in Christchurch may explain the rarity of overwintering common wasps, and, if so, suggests that this phenomenon may be more frequent in northern parts of New Zealand.
Data on the seasonality and growth of the German wasp (Vespula germanica (F.)) collected before and after the establishment, in the Manawatu, of the common wasp (V. vulgaris (L.)) were compared to investigate possible antagonistic interactions between the two species. Additional comparisons of seasonality and growth were made between the two species and between habitat (rural versus urban) and nest-site (ground versus building) categories within each species. There were no detectable differences in colony growth rate or nest size parameters in V. germanica before and after the arrival of V. vulgaris. This indicates either that, in the Manawatu, the two species do not compete, or that they do compete but without any measurable, differential effect on colony growth. Comparison of the two species indicated that both had similar rates of colony growth but V. vulgaris colonies were larger in January and February, presumably due to earlier initiation of nest building. V. germanica was first to Z98020 Received 19 May 1998; accepted 27 August 1998 begin producing drones, while V. vulgaris began building queen cells earlier. Urban V. germanica colonies were larger than those from rural habitats, but there was no difference between colonies built in the ground or in buildings. In contrast, V. vulgaris colonies in the ground were larger than those in buildings, but urban and rural colonies did not differ in size.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.