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Ecology and Management of Invasive Vespidae

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Dear Colleagues,

Diversity Journal is launching a Special Issue dedicated to the “Ecology and Management of Invasive Vespidae”. In the last century, an increasing number of new Vespidae introductions were recorded worldwide, and in some cases these introductions originated invasive populations. Examples of successful invasions are represented by the case of Vespa velutina in Europe or the multiple worldwide introductions of Vespula germanica and Vespula vulgaris. In Spain, within the past twelve years, four non-native Vespidae species have been detected: the yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), the black shield hornet (Vespa bicolor), the American paper wasp (Polistes major) and the Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis). These invasions can generate massive environmental and socio-economic impacts. When dealing with complicated challenges such as the consequences caused by not-native species of Vespidae, it is necessary to produce, assemble and interpret information and knowledge using diverse sources and in an interdisciplinary way. As part of the One Health philosophy, people and animals, as well as the environment that they share, are closely connected. To prevent Vespidae introductions or mitigate their impacts, surveillance and management practices are required. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to promote research on these topics. We welcome manuscripts on topics including but not limited to:

Environmental impacts generated by invasive Vespidae (e.g., impacts on native pollinators and on pollination ecosystem services, competition with native species);
One Health and invasive Vespidae;
Socio-economic impacts (e.g., issues in human health or activities, costs for the implementation of surveillance/management strategies);
Risk assessments or ecological models to forecast future impacts or distributions of invasive Vespidae;
Surveillance strategies for monitoring the distribution or supporting the early detection of new introductions, including citizen science approaches;
Management strategies (e.g., eradication, control) for preventing and mitigating the impacts of invasive Vespidae.

Dr. Simone Lioy
Dr. Xesús Feás
Guest Editors

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

invasive Vespidae
impacts
surveillance
eradication
control

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13 pages, 5563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Host Range Expansion of Nest-Parasitic Moths Pyralis regalis and Hypsopygia mauritialis in Social Wasp Nests: New Findings and Implications for Biological Control

by Young-Min Shin, Heung Sik Lee, Il-Kwon Kim, Chang-Jun Kim and Moon Bo Choi

Diversity 2023, 15(6), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060789 - 19 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1390

Abstract

Parasitic moths are common in social wasp (Hymenoptera) nests, attacking many species of Polistinae and a few species of Vespinae. In the Republic of Korea, two moth species are known to parasitize the brood of Polistes rothneyi koreanus: Pyralis regalis (Pyralidae) and Anatrachyntis japonica (Cosmopterigidae). Although previously reported elsewhere, a novel case of parasitization was recently documented in the Republic of Korea, in which Hypsopygia mauritialis (Pyralidae) was identified in the nests of social wasps. Pyralis regalis is the most common parasitic moth in the Republic of Korea, feeding on the nests of 11 species of social wasps, mostly the Korean Vespa species. To that list of hosts, we add a species of Dolichovespula and two species of Polistes. Parasitism of Vespa velutina nigrithorax, an invasive alien hornet, by both P. regalis and H. mauritialis, was observed for the first time. However, their potential to control invasive alien hornets is expected to be low. This study provides new insights into the diversity of nest-parasitic moths in social wasp nests and their hosts in the Republic of Korea, and highlights the potential for these moths to impact pest populations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Management of Invasive Vespidae)

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13 pages, 4703 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climatic Niche Differentiation between the Invasive Hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax and Two Native Hornets in Europe, Vespa crabro and Vespa orientalis

by Simone Lioy, Luca Carisio, Aulo Manino and Marco Porporato

Diversity 2023, 15(4), 495; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15040495 - 28 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2268

Abstract

The introduction and expansion of the Asian yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) in Europe poses concern for multiple reasons, including biodiversity conservation. In addition to the predation of native insects (e.g., bees and wasps), this species may compete with native hornets due to an overlap of their climatic and trophic niches. The aim of this study is to investigate the realised climatic niche of V. v. nigrithorax and its response to climatic conditions and to evaluate the degree of overlap with the niches of the two native Vespa species present in Europe, Vespa crabro and Vespa orientalis. The niches of both native species partially overlap with the niche of the invasive species (Schoener’s D, 0.43 for V. crabro and 0.28 for V. orientalis), although some differences can be detected. V. crabro appears to be more adapted to cold and dry conditions than the invasive species, and V. orientalis is more adapted to arid climates. These differences may provide a competitive advantage to both native species in areas with a lower environmental suitability for V. v. nigrithorax, in the probable event that this species continues to spread, reaching all areas predicted to be suitable in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Management of Invasive Vespidae)

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