Comparative characteristics of nests of<i>Vespula germanica</i>(F.) and<i>Vespula vulgaris</i>(L.) (Hymenoptera: Vespinae) from Christchurch City, New Zealand

Donovan, B. J.; Howie, A. M. E.; Schroeder, N. C.

doi:10.1080/03014223.1992.10423252

Cited by 18 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Such nests therefore behave more as asynchronous annual colonies rather than as true perennial ones, and they differ from overwintered V. vulgaris colonies recorded overseas (Ratnieks & Miller 1993;Akre et al 1993) and from V. germanica colonies which have overwintered in New Zealand (Thomas 1960;Plunkett et al 1989;Donovan et al 1992;Harris 1996). Typically, an overwintering colony of V. germanica originates as an annual colony which, having produced sexuals in its first year, then undergoes a resurgence of growth through the winter (Donovan et al 1992). A return to worker production and the replacement of the founder queen by multiple egg-laying queens (Spradbery 1991) results in a true perennial colony, often reaching prodigious size and producing reproductives throughout much of its second year (Leathwick pers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overwintering by V. vulgaris in New Zealand thus appears to involve the late initiation of nests, resulting in small autumn colonies which do not produce reproductives, but continue through the winter and recommence rapid growth the following spring. Such nests therefore behave more as asynchronous annual colonies rather than as true perennial ones, and they differ from overwintered V. vulgaris colonies recorded overseas (Ratnieks & Miller 1993;Akre et al 1993) and from V. germanica colonies which have overwintered in New Zealand (Thomas 1960;Plunkett et al 1989;Donovan et al 1992;Harris 1996). Typically, an overwintering colony of V. germanica originates as an annual colony which, having produced sexuals in its first year, then undergoes a resurgence of growth through the winter (Donovan et al 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the common wasp (V. vulgaris) was not known to overwinter in this country until three nests were recorded doing so in beech forest containing honeydew near Nelson (Plunkett et al 1989). Extensive datasets comprising 529 colonies from urban Nelson ) and 365 colonies from Christchurch City (Donovan et al 1992) failed to record any overwintering by V. vulgaris. This led Donovan et al (1992) to speculate that overwintering by V. vulgaris may require either a food source different from that of V. germanica or the presence of honeydew.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Colonies of the German wasp (Vespula germanica) commonly overwinter in New Zealand (Thomas 1960;Plunkett et al 1989;Donovan et al 1992;Harris 1996). However, the common wasp (V. vulgaris) was not known to overwinter in this country until three nests were recorded doing so in beech forest containing honeydew near Nelson (Plunkett et al 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extensive datasets comprising 529 colonies from urban Nelson ) and 365 colonies from Christchurch City (Donovan et al 1992) failed to record any overwintering by V. vulgaris. This led Donovan et al (1992) to speculate that overwintering by V. vulgaris may require either a food source different from that of V. germanica or the presence of honeydew. Here we document three overwintered colonies of V. vulgaris collected in urban Palmerston North, North Island, New Zealand during 1993/94.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overwintering colonies of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) in Palmerston North, New Zealand

Leathwick

Godfrey

1996

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overwintering colonies of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) in Palmerston North, New Zealand

Leathwick

Godfrey

1996

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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High occurrence of colony fusion in a European population of the American termite Reticulitermes flavipes

et al. 2010

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International audienceThe coexistence of multiple unrelated reproductives within social insect colonies decreases the relatedness among colony members and therefore challenges kin selection theory. This study investigated the colony genetic structure of a French introduced population of the American subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes by analyzing genotypes at eight microsatellite loci and at one mtDNA region. Results revealed that all colonies contained numerous related secondary reproductives, and that 31% of colonies possessed more than two unrelated reproductives. The presence of several unrelated reproductives within colonies of this species is commonly assumed to result from colony fusion. Although such a high occurrence of colony fusion is the highest ever observed in a termite population, it is probable that the available methodology underestimated the detection of colony fusion in French populations. Overall, these results suggest that French colonies might differ strongly from the great majority of American colonies in their capacity to produce secondary reproductives as well as in their ability to merge. The nature and evolutionary origin of these population differences are discussed

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Long-term coexistence of two invasive vespid wasps in NW Patagonia (Argentina)

2022

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In Patagonia (Argentina) two non-native vespid wasps became established in the last decades.Vespula germanica was first detected in 1980 while V. vulgaris arrived some 30 years later. Both species can have a strong negative impact on agriculture, natural environment and on outdoor human activities. Invasion success -the establishment and spread of a species-may be influenced negatively by the degree of interaction with the resident native community, and alien species already present. The sequential arrival of these two wasps allows us to understand key questions of invasion ecology. Additionally, recognizing the outcome of the invasion by vespids in Patagonia -a region lacking native social wasps-, may help plan species-focused mitigation and control strategies. We explored long term species coexistence through the deterministic Lotka-Volterra competition model, using site-specific field data on prey captured (to estimate niche overlap) and current nest densities in sites. Food items carried by workers were similar but there is some degree of segregation. V. germanica nest density in shared sites, and in sites without coexistence, were 3.14 and 3.5 respectively, being higher for V. vulgaris with 4.71 and 5.33. The model predicts stable co-existence of both species in the invaded range, yet a higher abundance of V. vulgaris should be expected. Added to evidence on other foraging behavioral attributes of both wasp species and the invasion patterns observed in other regions, it is likely that the prior presence of V. germanica does not contribute significantly to the biotic resistance of the invaded range for V. vulgaris.

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Comparative characteristics of nests ofVespula germanica(F.) andVespula vulgaris(L.) (Hymenoptera: Vespinae) from Christchurch City, New Zealand

Cited by 18 publications

References 10 publications

Overwintering colonies of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) in Palmerston North, New Zealand

Overwintering colonies of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) in Palmerston North, New Zealand

High occurrence of colony fusion in a European population of the American termite Reticulitermes flavipes

Long-term coexistence of two invasive vespid wasps in NW Patagonia (Argentina)

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