Colony structure and nest characteristics of European wasps, Vespula germanica (F.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

European wasps, Vespula germanica , are common across southern and south-eastern Australia and have a negative impact upon urban areas, primary industries, and natural ecosystems. Aspects of colony structure and nest characteristics are examined for nests located in the ground and collected from urban and rural sites in Victoria during two summer-autumn field seasons (1996 and 2001). On average, nests were located 28 cm beneath the surface (range 5-58 cm). The average number of combs in the nest and the total area of the nests increased from early February to late May. In addition, the proportion of cells used to produce workers and different life stages (larvae, pupae) also varied throughout the season; being consistent with studies from New Zealand. No differences in colony structure or nest characteristics were detected between urban and rural nests.

Biomass and biodiversity of nocturnal aerial insects in an Adelaide City park and implications for bats (Microchiroptera)

“…They are frequently excluded from biodiversity assessments; for example an evaluation of changes in species richness in metropolitan Adelaide was described recently using only vertebrate and vascular plant knowledge . Furthermore, existing urban invertebrate research has focused on obvious or charismatic species, such as butterflies (Brown and Freitas 2002;New and Sands 2002;Dover and Rowlingson 2004;Collier et al 2006) or pest species (epidemiology and economic/agricultural aspects) (Ali et al 1986;Wishart 1999;McIntyre 2000;Ward et al 2002;Hausmann et al 2004;Hwang and Turner 2005;Russell et al 2005). Research on Australia's urban invertebrates is particularly limited; temporal variation in assemblages is poorly understood and mechanisms driving arthropod distributions are unclear, as are the implications for their insectivorous predators (Garden et al 2006).…”

Colony characteristics of Vespula germanica (F.) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) in a Mediterranean climate (southern Australia)

“…Donovan et al (1992) noted a general seasonal increase in numbers of combs in Christchurch, New Zealand, also observed in this study. However, Fordham et al (1991) in Manawatu, New Zealand, andWard et al (2002) in eastern Australia found a linear relationship between sampling date and number of combs present. When two of these studies examined nest size in terms of nest area, the results show the same pattern of linear increase with season (Donovan et al 1992;Ward et al 2002).…”

“…These include numbers of comb layers (e.g. Fordham et al 1991;Donovan et al 1992;Ward et al 2002) and total area of combs (e.g. Donovan et al 1992;Ward et al 2002).…”

“…South Australia, ACT, Western Australia), there is a lack of basic information on the biology and ecology of V. germanica in Australia (Crosland 1991;Ward et al 2002). Previous studies have modelled the potential spread of the wasp (Spradbery & Maywald 1992), and examined changes in annual abundance (Madden 1981;Horwood et al 1993;Goodall & Smith 2001).…”

“…Previous studies have modelled the potential spread of the wasp (Spradbery & Maywald 1992), and examined changes in annual abundance (Madden 1981;Horwood et al 1993;Goodall & Smith 2001). Crosland (1991) examined nesting sites of V. germanica in parts of Adelaide and Melbourne, while Ward et al (2002) inspected seasonal changes in nest size. Some recent studies have examined the genetic patterns within and between V. germanica populations (Goodisman et al 2001a(Goodisman et al ,b, 2002.…”