Species Composition, Abundance and Seasonal Phenology of Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Wisconsin Vineyards

Abstract

Social wasps can be serious pests in fruit growing plantings and are becoming increasingly problematic for grape growers. In this study, we conducted two experiments to assess the species composition and seasonal phenology of social wasps in Wisconsin vineyards in 2015 and 2017. In 2015, three attractants were used: (1) wine; (2) heptyl butyrate (HB); and (3) acetic acid and isobutanol (AAIB) and in 2017, two attractants were used: HB and AAIB. In both years, the same eight species were trapped from the genera Vespula, Dolichovespula, and Polistes. The predominant wasp species trapped were Vespula maculifrons, Vespula vidua, Vespula flavopilosa, and Vespula germanica in 2015 and V. maculifrons, V. flavopilosa, V. germanica, and Dolichovespula maculata in 2017, in order of total abundance. The populations of V. vidua decreased in 2017 compared to 2015, indicating large inter-annual variation. In both years, AAIB lures trapped significantly more V. flavopilosa, V. maculifrons, and V. germanica, the three most prevalent species during grape harvest, than HB, whereas HB lures trapped more V. vidua than AAIB. Wine was generally attractive to all species in 2015. This study identifies for the first time the wasp species present in Wisconsin commercial vineyards using chemical attractants. This knowledge, along with the seasonal phenology of these pest species, will help facilitate the development of management strategies for social wasps in commercial vineyards.

Auditory predator cues decrease herbivore survival and plant damage

“…While both ourselves and previous researchers (Tautz & Rostás, 2008) found that “domesticated” S. exigua still responded to auditory predator cues, the effect of this stimulus on “wild” Spodoptera might be substantially greater. Finally, the abundance of social wasps generally increases throughout the summer before peaking in the fall (Guedot et al, 2018; Southon et al, 2019); future work might compare the antipredator responses of spring‐feeding caterpillars with those of summer‐/fall‐feeding species.…”

The structure of temperate yellowjacket communities is affected by land development and loss of forest cover

“…Chemical attractants were used at each site to thoroughly sample yellowjacket diversity (De Souza et al, 2011). Extensive research involving the effectiveness of chemical attractants for capturing wasp species has concluded that a variety of baits or lures is necessary to sample yellowjacket diversity (Guédot et al, 2018;Landolt & Zhang, 2016;Landolt et al, 2003). Heptyl butyrate (HB) and acetic acid plus isobutanol (AAIB) were used as lures at each site.…”