Box 7.5 The European Wasp: A Currently Contained Ecological
Threat
The yellow and black patterned European or German Wasp (Vespula
germanica) is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but has been accidentally
introduced to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and
South Africa, where it was first observed on the Cape Peninsula in 1975
(Davies et al. 2020, Chap. 22). Colonial nests, which are constructed mostly
below ground, are made from chewed plant fibres and may contain thousands
of individuals. Adults are opportunistic predators and scavengers and feed on a
wide variety of live arthropods, as well as on fruit and sugary substances. They
have a variety of impacts, including competition with, and predation on, other
beneficial insects (including Honey Bees), and they impact negatively on the
wine and fruit industries. They may also be the carriers of Honey Bee viruses,
but these have not yet been detected in South African populations (BrentonRule et al. 2018). They are also pests to picnickers, as they sting readily when
disturbed. Although they are strong fliers and have the potential to spread
widely, especially along the climatically suitable southern and eastern coastal
regions of South Africa, as well as the northeastern interior, the expansion
in South Africa has been very slow and the population remains restricted
to the Western Cape (Tribe and Richardson 1994; van Zyl et al. 2018)
(figure below).
The European Wasp Vespula germanica (Photo: Charles Griffiths)
198
C. Janion-Scheepers and C. L. Griffiths
Threat
The yellow and black patterned European or German Wasp (Vespula
germanica) is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but has been accidentally
introduced to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and
South Africa, where it was first observed on the Cape Peninsula in 1975
(Davies et al. 2020, Chap. 22). Colonial nests, which are constructed mostly
below ground, are made from chewed plant fibres and may contain thousands
of individuals. Adults are opportunistic predators and scavengers and feed on a
wide variety of live arthropods, as well as on fruit and sugary substances. They
have a variety of impacts, including competition with, and predation on, other
beneficial insects (including Honey Bees), and they impact negatively on the
wine and fruit industries. They may also be the carriers of Honey Bee viruses,
but these have not yet been detected in South African populations (BrentonRule et al. 2018). They are also pests to picnickers, as they sting readily when
disturbed. Although they are strong fliers and have the potential to spread
widely, especially along the climatically suitable southern and eastern coastal
regions of South Africa, as well as the northeastern interior, the expansion
in South Africa has been very slow and the population remains restricted
to the Western Cape (Tribe and Richardson 1994; van Zyl et al. 2018)
(figure below).
The European Wasp Vespula germanica (Photo: Charles Griffiths)
198
C. Janion-Scheepers and C. L. Griffiths