The European Wasp

The European wasp is known by many names. It is more commonly called the European or German Wasp. Its scientific name is Vespila Germanica. The European Wasp originated from Europe, Northern Africa and Temperate Asia. It however has been introduced to other parts of the world including Australia and parts of North America.

The European Wasp was not brought to Australia. Instead it is believed to have gotten to Australia through human transport. It is believed that the wasp entered Australia through the boats of people arriving in Australia. The first recording of the European Wasp was in Tasmania 1959. In 1977, the European Wasp was first recorded in the mainland of Australia located in Melbourne. By 1978 they had also been found in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia. Although the wasp is located all over Australia, it is mainly restricted to the cool and wet climates of coastal southern Australia.

European wasps prefer nests located near humans. The reason for this is to scavenge for food and sweet liquids like soft drinks.

There are numerous reasons why the European wasp is a pest. The wasps feed on ripened fruit. This causes damage to the economy because fruit farmers can have thousands of dollars worth of damaged goods because of the European Wasps presence. The European wasps can also linger around factories producing sweet goods. The smell from the factory attracts the wasps. The wasps can both irritate workers enter the factory and be accidentally put inside the goods. They also affect the apiculture industry. The European wasp is known to attack and kill bees and then proceeding to take over their hive.

In its native habitat in Europe, the wasp is found in colder climates than those found in Australia. These cold temperatures kill all the wasps during the winter, leaving behind only the Queen wasp. The Queen wasp will then proceed to re-populate the entire hive after winter has past. It is in this way that the population of the European wasps is controlled.

In Australia the temperatures are not cold enough to kill the worker wasps, leaving behind the queen and several thousand workers. In Australia and New Zealand, the milder winters can allow the nests to survive over winter. These nests can be re-queened by multiple fertilised queens. These over-wintered nests can attain sizes of 3-4 metres across and contain