Abstract
Asian hornet, Vespa velutina Lepeletier nests were discovered in 2007 in Andernos-les-Bains on the south-west coast of France, 3 years after the first reported sightings in France. The number of nests increased in the commune over the following 7 years, despite local authorities enacting a destruction policy. The nests existed in close proximity to one another leading to a high density of over 10 nests per square kilometre in urban areas. New information on the chosen habitat for nests is presented, and the differences between primary and secondary locations are evident, with primary nests mostly occupying buildings and man-made structures, while secondary nests were found on trees. Using Bayesian inference methods, we fit a basic model to the observational data, which allows us to estimate key demographic parameters. This model fit is highly informative for predicting V. velutina spread and colonisation of other at-risk regions, and suggests that local control has a limited impact on the spread of V. velutina once established within a region.
Highlights
Insects are vital to agriculture globally through their role as pollinators of crops
The initial discovery was of four V. velutina nests in 2007, three of these were discovered on oak trees, and one on a Number of nests Identified as primary nests Identified as secondary nests Active primary destroyed Active secondary destroyed Number of detected colonies
Most nests were destroyed after discovery, but only the destruction of active nests contributes to control of this pest
Summary
Insects are vital to agriculture globally through their role as pollinators of crops. The European honeybee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus is the most widely managed pollinator in the world, with recent estimates suggesting this single species may contribute nearly half of global crop pollination services (Kleijn et al 2015). The number of honeybee hives worldwide has increased by 45% in the last half century, yet the demand for pollinators to drive pollinator-dependent agriculture has increased by 300% in the same time period (Aizen and Harder 2009). This increase is due to economic and political factors, such as increasing populations and demand for food, rather than biological reasons. The increase in managed honeybee hives has taken on extra importance due to the decline in wild and feral populations (Kraus and Page 1995; Moritz et al 2007), and of other wild bee species (Goulson et al 2008; Williams and Osborne 2009)
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