Attraction of the invasive social wasp, <i><scp>V</scp>espula vulgaris</i>, by volatiles from fermented brown sugar

Brown, Robert L.; El‐Sayed, Ashraf M.; Unelius, C. Rikard; Suckling, D. M.

doi:10.1111/eea.12183

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…For example, Hanna et al (2012) found heptyl butyrate might help to increase the effective treatment area for V. pensylvanica in Hawai'i. It does not appear to be a useful attractant for V. vulgaris, but new attractants are under development (Brown et al 2014.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective distances of wasp (Vespula vulgaris) poisoning using clustered bait stations in beech forest

Harper¹,

Joice²,

Kelly³

et al. 2016

NZ J Ecol

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Poison baiting from fixed bait stations is currently the most effective method to reduce the ecological impacts of invasive Vespula vulgaris wasps in New Zealand. Maintaining extensive bait lines or grids and later removal of unused baits within forest habitats is, however, difficult and time-consuming. To improve costeffectiveness and to make use of wasps' ability to forage at long distances from the nest, we tested the efficacy of using clusters of bait stations. We set up three clusters around Lake Rotoiti within Nelson Lakes National Park, each containing eight stations baited with Xtinguish TM (active ingredient 0.1% fipronil) for 3-4 days in early February, 2010 and recorded the traffic rates of 144 V. vulgaris nests, at varying distances from bait clusters, before and after treatment. The distance from a bait station cluster significantly affected the change in traffic rates, with a GLM model predicting an 80% reduction in average colony size within 113 m of a cluster, and a 50% reduction within 250 m but no reduction at 470 m. The efficacy of the poison baiting was affected by initial colony size-large colonies had greater reductions in traffic than small colonies. Nests up to 150 m higher in elevation than the clusters were as likely to be destroyed as those at the same elevation as the clusters. While overall this baiting strategy did not produce the 80-90% average traffic reductions achieved by more intensive grid baiting systems, it suggests that spacing grouped bait stations approximately 250 m apart has the potential to reduce wasp densities to below an ecologically damaging level with considerably less effort.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective distances of wasp (Vespula vulgaris) poisoning using clustered bait stations in beech forest

Harper¹,

Joice²,

Kelly³

et al. 2016

NZ J Ecol

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“…V. pensylvanica Saussure and V. germanica were attracted to volatile emissions from the yeast-like fungus, Aureobasidium pullulans, commonly found on apples and other fruit (Davis et al 2012). Similarly, Brown et al (2014) demonstrated the attraction of Vespula wasps to fermented brown sugar and several associated synthetic compounds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Invasive Vespula Wasps Utilize Kairomones to Exploit Honeydew Produced by Sooty Scale Insects, Ultracoelostoma

et al. 2015

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Vespula wasps are widely distributed invasive alien species that are able to reach high population densities in the 1.2 M ha of beech forests (Fuscospora spp.) of New Zealand's South Island. These endemic temperate forests have an abundance of carbohydrate-rich honeydew produced by native scale insects (Ultracoelostoma spp.). A characteristic aroma is associated with the honeydew in beech forests, which we hypothesized is the signal used by wasps to harvest the vast resources previously exploited by birds and other insects. Volatile collections were taken of black beech tree trunks with honeydew and sooty mold present, and analyzed with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Eleven compounds (benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethyl acetate, 2-phenylethanol, phenylacetaldehyde, methyl 2-phenylacetate, ethyl 2-phenylacetate, methyl salicylate, n-octanol, octan-3-ol, and 1-octen-3-ol) were positively identified from the headspace, and were shown to elicit an electrophysiological response from Vespula vulgaris worker antennae by using electroantennography (EAG). Field trials with delta traps individually baited with these compounds confirmed wasp attraction to 8 of the 11 compounds tested, with 2-phenylethyl acetate, methyl salicylate, and octan-3-ol capturing the same numbers of wasps as the control. In later trials, attraction to a 1:1 blend of benzaldehyde and n-octanol was significantly higher (45%) than to any other treatment. Many of the chemicals identified are known to be associated with fermenting sugars, or with fungal aroma. Benzaldehyde and n-octanol are common compounds produced by many different species in nature. The ability to respond to generic signals emanating from sugar resources is likely to contribute to the success of V. vulgaris as an invasive species.

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“…Several of the most abundant compounds produced by these yeasts have the potential to attract yellowjackets. For example, isoamyl alcohol is a common product of yeast fermentation (Viana et al, 2008;Gonz alez-Robles et al, 2015), and is moderately attractive to yellowjackets (Landolt et al, 2000;Brown et al, 2014). Its corresponding ester, isoamyl acetate, is a known attractant for yellowjackets (Brown et al, 2014), and 2-methyl-1-butanol is a potent attractant for many yellowjacket species (Landolt & Zhang, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter‐kingdom signaling — symbiotic yeasts produce semiochemicals that attract their yellowjacket hosts

Babcock

Borden²,

Gries

et al. 2019

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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In recent studies, the yeast species Hanseniaspora uvarum and Lachancea thermotolerans were isolated from the digestive tract of four North American yellowjacket species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), and attraction of yellowjackets to brewer's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (all Saccharomycetaceae), growing on fruit powder was demonstrated. We tested the hypothesis that Vespula spp. are attracted to cultures of H. uvarum and L. thermotolerans and their respective volatiles. In field experiments, we found that H. uvarum and L. thermotolerans are attractive to three species of yellowjacket, but only when grown on grape juice‐infused yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) agar. Using gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry, we analyzed the headspace volatiles produced by these yeasts, and field tested an 18‐component yeast synthetic semiochemical blend. This synthetic blend attracted western yellowjackets, Vespula pensylvanica (Saussure), but no other yellowjacket species. Acetic acid or ethanol added to the synthetic blend at biologically relevant doses either had no effect or significantly lowered trap captures. Our results demonstrate that yeast symbionts isolated from the digestive tract of yellowjackets are attractive to their hosts. Further research is needed to identify the volatiles mediating attraction of species other than V. pensylvanica to the yeast cultures.

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Attraction of the invasive social wasp, Vespula vulgaris, by volatiles from fermented brown sugar

Cited by 20 publications

References 29 publications

Effective distances of wasp (Vespula vulgaris) poisoning using clustered bait stations in beech forest

Effective distances of wasp (Vespula vulgaris) poisoning using clustered bait stations in beech forest

Invasive Vespula Wasps Utilize Kairomones to Exploit Honeydew Produced by Sooty Scale Insects, Ultracoelostoma

Inter‐kingdom signaling — symbiotic yeasts produce semiochemicals that attract their yellowjacket hosts

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