First record of Vespa crabro Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in western North America with a review of recorded species of Vespa Linnaeus in Canada

Abstract

Vespa crabro Linnaeus is newly reported as an adventive species in British Columbia, Canada which is the first record of this invasive species in western North America. The specimen of V. crabro was identified using morphological diagnostic keys and by comparison to authoritatively identified specimens. DNA barcoding provided support that the British Columbia specimen is conspecific with sequenced specimens of V. crabro. It is not possible to be certain of the origin of the specimen, but the DNA barcode was identical to sequence from specimens of V. crabro from South Korea. DNA barcoding was also performed on morphologically identified specimens of Vespa simillima and Vespa soror collected previously in British Columbia and the sequences were closest to V. simillima and V. soror Genbank sequences, respectively. There is no evidence that any of these species have established populations in the province. We provide diagnostic morphological characters to distinguish Canadian Vespa species from each other including Vespa mandarinia which has recently established populations in British Columbia and Washington State, USA. The potential detrimental impacts of each species are discussed.

Invasion potential of hornets (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Vespa spp.)

“…Many hornet species have been reported from locations outside their native ranges ( Table 1 ). In most instances where information about the discovery is available, individual hornets or single colonies have been detected, specifically: V. affinis (Linnaeus) in the United States ( 24 ) and New Zealand ( 25 ); V. bicolor Fabricius in United Arab Emirates ( 28 ); V. crabro in western Canada ( 29 ), Guatemala ( 30 ), and Mexico ( 31 ); V. simillima Smith in Canada ( 44 ) and Taiwan ( 45 ); V. soror du Buysson in Canada ( 29 ); and V. orientalis in multiple localities. Remarkably, the earliest record of a hornet transported long distance was a V. bicolor individual that survived the journey by boat from India to Marseille, France, in ~1800 ( 26 ).…”

“…The giant hornets, V. mandarinia and V. soror , received exceptional press coverage and intensive search efforts following their discovery in western North America ( Figure 1 ). In spring of 2019, a gyne of V. soror was collected at the harbor of Vancouver, British Columbia; this is the only detection of that species outside of its endemic range in subtropical Asia ( 29 ). That single hornet was a prelude to the media frenzy sparked by the discovery of both individual workers and active nests of its sister species, V. mandarinia , in British Columbia and Washington state between 2019–2021 ( 33 ).…”

VespAI: a deep learning-based system for the detection of invasive hornets

“…VespAI is thus optimised to facilitate the detection and tracking of live hornet workers, which currently constitutes the most effective method of nest location and destruction, and forms the basis of all efficacious exclusion strategies 10 . Beyond V. velutina , the platform also provides a tool for the detection of V. crabro in areas where it is itself invasive 63 or protected 64 , and its efficient training pipeline is amenable to the inclusion of additional invasive or conserved species. As such, the system has strong potential for rapid adaptation to emerging biosecurity and conservation challenges, with future development aiming to support this goal.…”

Phylogeographic Reconstruction to Trace the Source Population of Asian Giant Hornet Caught in Nanaimo in Canada and Blaine in the USA

“…The genus Vespa , natively distributed in tropical, subtropical, and temperate Asia, features several invasive hornet species [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The accidental introduction of V. velutina to Europe [ 4 ] severely affected European apiculture, leading to tens of millions of dollars in management costs [ 5 ].…”

“…This suggests the possibility of identifying the source population by using genetic markers such as mitochondrial COX1 sequences, as had previously been conducted with V. velutina in Europe [ 22 ]. The approach has been taken to identify the source population for an invading individual in V. crabro [ 1 ]. A preliminary identification has already been made [ 10 ] to identify the source of the V. mandarinia individuals caught in Canada and the USA, with a phylogenetic tree including five V. mandarinia specimens (the Canada and USA specimens plus one specimen each from China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea).…”