SBS Seminar Series 2014 - Prof Phil Lester

Date: 21 October 2014 Time: 12.00 pm

Prof Phil Lester

School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington

The wasp problem: determining the origin and enemies of one of New Zealand's worst invaders

The common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) has invaded and attained high densities in Argentina, Australia, and in New Zealand where it has been defined as a "critical issue" for entomology and conservation. We first sought to determine from where in the Eurasian home range these wasps have invaded. Using variation in two mitochondrial genes we found the likely home range of invasive populations to be the United Kingdom, Ireland or nearby countries in Western Europe. The populations within the invaded range appear to have arisen from a small number of introductions, limiting the likelihood of the co-introduction of wasp natural enemies. Using both genomic and proteomic methods we have examined for the presence and diversity of pathogens and parasites in populations of wasps from the native (Belgium and England) and invaded range (New Zealand and Argentina). Wasps are frequently infected with social insect pathogens including viruses and fungi. As yet we have found no evidence of "enemy release" in these wasps, as the number of pathogen taxa observed in the native range was similar in both the introduced and native range. Given the similarity of the wasp pathogen fauna to that from honey bees and other social insects the lack of enemy release in wasp populations may be related to these social insects forming a reservoir of parasites and pathogens in both the native and invaded range.

For more information about Prof Phil Lester, please click here

All undergraduate students and interested parties are welcome to attend