What is it about?

Social wasps are highly invasive - and in the worst case worldwide, they've discovered the smell associated with 1.2M ha of native Nothofagus beech forest - honeydew learn and exploit without natural enemies. What is the smell?

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Why is it important?

This work helps to explain the phenomenon of wasps impacting hugely on biodiversity in these fantastc Gondwanaland ecosystems, how the pilagers operate.

Perspectives

Social wasps are invidious, odious and unwanted everywhere in the new range. If we can understand how they work, maybe we can develop mitigating strategies.

Professor David Maxwell Suckling
University of Auckland

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Invasive Vespula Wasps Utilize Kairomones to Exploit Honeydew Produced by Sooty Scale Insects, Ultracoelostoma, Journal of Chemical Ecology, October 2015, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s10886-015-0635-1.
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