A scientific note about a parasitoid that can parasitize the yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax, in Europe

Darrouzet, Éric; Gévar, Jérémy; Dupont, Simon

doi:10.1007/s13592-014-0297-y

Cited by 18 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another promising control method that merits further study is the use of biological control agents. These agents include the endoparasitoid, Conops vesicularis, which was recently observed in dead queens in France (Darrouzet, G evar & Dupont 2015b) and parasitic nematodes such as Pheromermis vesparum, which were collected from adult hornets in France . Although these biological agents by themselves would hardly hamper the invasion , if more efficient natural enemies were found, especially in the yellow-legged hornet's native range, they could be used to weaken populations.…”

Section: F U T U R E R E S E a R C H : A P P L Y I N G T H E M O D E mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid spread of the invasive yellow‐legged hornet inFrance: the role of human‐mediated dispersal and the effects of control measures

Robinet¹,

Suppo

Darrouzet

2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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100

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Summary The invasive yellow‐legged hornet was first discovered in Europe, in south‐western France, in 2004. It has since spread very rapidly and has caused significant mortality among honeybees and native entomofauna. It also poses a risk to humans because its sting provokes allergic reactions. The objectives of this study were the following: (i) to disentangle the roles played by human‐mediated dispersal and self‐mediated dispersal in the species' rapid range expansion and (ii) to estimate the intensity of control measures in France and determine what needs to be done to slow the hornet's spread and dramatically reduce its population densities. A mathematical model was developed to describe the hornet's potential spread. This model included parameters describing the population growth rate, carrying capacity, self‐mediated dispersal, human‐mediated dispersal and the efficacy of control measures (i.e. the destruction of detected nests). Model parameters were estimated using 2004–2009 occurrence data for France and the model was then validated using 2013 occurrence data. Several scenarios were tested: human‐mediated dispersal was present or absent and control intensity varied. Then, the species' spread in coming years was simulated (from 2013 to 2020). Despite some uncertainty on the value of the parameters, this model is relatively robust. Human‐mediated dispersal may not be necessarily responsible for the hornet's rapid range expansion; the species could spread rapidly on its own. It is likely that to date, an average of 30–40% of detected nests have been destroyed each year. Increasing the percentage of destroyed nests from 30 to 60% could reduce the species' spread by 17% and its nest density by 29%. If 95% of nests are destroyed, the species' spread and nest density could decline by 43% and 53%, respectively. Synthesis and applications. The mathematical model developed in this study shows that human‐mediated dispersal of the invasive yellow‐legged hornet may not be the only factor explaining the hornet's rapid range expansion and that controlling this invasive pest is still possible. Therefore, there is an urgent need to reduce self‐mediated dispersal and to intensify and improve control measures to diminish the species' impact and prevent its further spread. Control measures could combine the mechanical removal and destruction of individuals or infested materials with biological control techniques.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: F U T U R E R E S E a R C H : A P P L Y I N G T H E M O D E mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid spread of the invasive yellow‐legged hornet inFrance: the role of human‐mediated dispersal and the effects of control measures

Robinet¹,

Suppo

Darrouzet

2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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100

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“…Second, in 2009, the nests were distributed as aggregates; and aggregated patterns are caused, for example, by philopatry (Polidori et al, 2006), group protection against parasites and/or predators (Antonini et al, 2003;Rosenheim, 1990), or intraspecific attraction and/or increased mating probability (Oldroyd et al, 1995;Wattanachaiyingcharoen et al, 2003;Paar et al, 2004;Polidori et al, 2008;Tanner & Keller, 2012;Asίs et al, 2014). For V. velutina, the pressure from parasitism and/or predation as a driver of nest aggregation was unlikely, because this invasive species has few natural enemies, many of which remain anecdotal (see Monceau et al, 2014;Darrouzet et al, 2015;Villemant et al, 2015). Instead, conspecific attraction and/or philopatry might be involved (Edwards, 1980).…”

Section: Annual Nest Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vespa velutinanest distribution at a local scale: An 8‐year survey of the invasive honeybee predator

Monceau

Thiéry

2016

Insect Science

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Vespa velutina is an invasive species that was observed for the first time in France and Europe in 2004, which rapidly threatened domestic honeybees with active predation. For the first time in this study, we analyzed the distribution of V. velutina nests at a local scale to understand the pattern of nesting, and in 8 years of monitoring, a total of 528 nests were surveyed. With the exception of 2 years, the nests of V. velutina were randomly distributed within the monitored area, which suggested that intraspecific competition for nesting sites and/or food was unlikely. When the data for all years were combined, an aggregated distribution of nests at the seafront in the vicinity of the oyster farm and sportfishing activities was observed. This distribution suggested that seafood, attractive to vespids, might provide a valuable alternative food source that favored colony development. We also tested the effect of spring queen trapping of V. velutina on the distribution of nests in 2014, which was the year with the greatest number of colonies within the area; the position of the traps did not influence the distribution of the nests. For the first time, this study showed that (i) intraspecific competition was unlikely to be a mechanism for population regulation, (ii) some areas were more likely favored for hornet nests, and (iii) spring queen wasp trapping was inefficient as a method to limit the distribution of the V. velutina population.

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“…An endoparasitoid insect, the Conops vesicularis fly, has recently been described to infect larvae and adults of V. velutina (Darrouzet, Gévar, & Dupont, 2015). Unfortunately, C. vesicularis has only been observed on a very limited number of queens and this suggests that its use as a biological control auxiliary seems difficult, but this still needs to be further investigated.…”

Section: Using Parasitic Insectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Options for the biological and physical control of Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hym.: Vespidae) in Europe: A review

Turchi

Dérijard

2018

J Applied Entomology

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Recently, the environmental economist J.M. Salles (Salles, ) declared that “the Asian hornet was likely to be the most threatening invader insect in France.” Thirteen years after the accidental introduction in France, the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) has invaded most west European countries. Little has been done to date to limit its progression and its economic, ecological and social impact. Although it is illusory to try to eradicate this species, it is known that a targeted control would limit its threatening trend. Current V. velutina control in France is mainly based on (i) high scale volunteer trapping by citizens and (ii) volunteer spotting of the nest. Evaluation of trapping strategies developed so far to control V. velutina expansion has highlighted their failure and has demonstrated the need to optimize nest detection techniques and to investigate on new control strategies. This review describes most of the means aimed to control predation and expansion of V. velutina, whether they have been scientifically assessed or only tested on field with decent success. Published prospective control methods and biological control techniques are also presented.

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A scientific note about a parasitoid that can parasitize the yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax, in Europe

Cited by 18 publications

References 10 publications

Rapid spread of the invasive yellow‐legged hornet inFrance: the role of human‐mediated dispersal and the effects of control measures

Rapid spread of the invasive yellow‐legged hornet inFrance: the role of human‐mediated dispersal and the effects of control measures

Vespa velutinanest distribution at a local scale: An 8‐year survey of the invasive honeybee predator

Options for the biological and physical control of Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hym.: Vespidae) in Europe: A review

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