Wasp a threat to Aust.?

Press, 5 December 1986, Page 31

Wasp a threat to Aust.?

By ANNE JAMIESON AAP-Correspondent Canberra The European wasp, infamous for its sometimes fatal sting, could prove a more serious pest in Australia than in its native range, according to C.5.1.R.0. research. Scientists at the C.5.1.R.0. Division of Entomology have discovered that not only are colonies of wasps up to four times larger in Australia than they are in Europe, but they last much longer. According to an article in the summer issue of the C.5.1.R.0. journal “Ecos,” the wasps do not

disappear with the onset of autumn as they do in Europe but continue their activities during winter and into the next spring and summer. These “perennial” colonies can reach prodigious proportions — up to 100 times the size of European ones. Even conventional annual wasp colonies tend to be larger in Australia than Europe, and remain active for up to 10 months here compared with a seven-month season in Europe. European colonies reach a maximum adult population of 3000 to 4000

worker wasps and 12,000 to 13,000 cells. By contrast, more than 11,000 workers were counted in a single nest of some sixty thousand cells in Melbourne — more than four times larger than Europe’s best. Australia’s relatively mild climate favours wasps by ensuring abundant winter supplies of nectar and insect prey. According to “Ecos,” there have been no deaths from the wasp in Australia but it has caused many people to be admitted to hospital, including one person who was clinically dead on admission.