BIOVESP Operational Group: Integrated biological control of vespa velutina

V. velutina is an invasive species that is spreading unchecked throughout the country due to its lack of natural predators. The presence of V. velutina causes problems in several areas: Socioeconomic: The Asian hornet feeds on insects, including bees, to meet the protein needs of its larvae. Adult insects feed on various sugary liquids such as flower and shrub nectar, ripe fruits, sugary aphid excretions, and tree bark sap. V. velutina hunts bees, trapping them in flight or preying on those found at the entrance.

Beehive predation induces stress, affecting bee health. Persistent attacks paralyze nectar and pollen collection, reducing the survival of bee colonies and significantly impacting the beekeeping sector. In the agricultural sector, these attacks impact pollination (bee predation generates changes in the frequency of flower visits and in pollinator behavior, affecting pollination services) and produce (many fruits are bitten and eaten by wasps, particularly in fruit trees near nests).

As the Asian hornet population expands, more resources are needed to minimize the damage caused by this species, which significantly increases the annual costs of these interventions. Beekeepers, farmers, and governments make significant investments of time and resources to minimize these impacts. Biodiversity: Asian hornets feed on many pollinating insects, which has a direct impact on pollination and an indirect impact on plants.

Native species are affected by invasions through other processes such as the transmission of pathogens, genetic contamination by hybridization, or competition for sometimes scarce resources (in the case of nectar, its consumption by an abundant population of invasive nectarivores promotes the displacement of native species), through competition that promotes the expansion of other invasive species and changes at the ecosystem level). Public health: The increase in the number of nests increases the risk of possible stings that can have serious consequences and generate health problems. Controlling the Asian hornet population is essential and necessary to try to control the uncontrolled expansion of the species and minimize the harmful and serious effects it causes.