Damaging Wasps Have Got Beyond Control

Chronicle (Levin), 12 July 1948, Page 5

Damaging Wasps Have Got Beyond Control

DUNEDIN, July 9. The menace constituted by tlie rapid spread of queeu wasps tliroughout many* parts of the Nortli Island in receni vears was stressed by Mr. G. K. Pater son, apiarv instructof of the Depariment of Agriculture, in an address to tlie annual conference of the National Beekeepers' Association. Because the wasp lived on insects anrl even meat, many people eonsidered it to have its uses, Mr. Paterson said, bu' these people did not realise the value of inanv insects m pollination. Tn its early stages the wasp fed on meat, but within a few months it turned' to a sweet diet. Tliis was eausing alarm amongst orchardists and in vinevards, for with its penchant for sweet foods the wasp would make deep inroads on many fruits. In 1945 the Vespa Germanica or queen wasp was flrst discovered near HamilMr. Paterson said. It was not taken verV serioiisly, abottt seveti nests Only being destroyed bv tlie ehd of tho vear. In Februarv, 1946, the destruction of 45 nests was reported and all these within a few milcs of Hamilton. By 1947, mere than 430 nests had been destroyed. The radius had extended to 40 miles. Up to the end of June this vear just under -3P00 nests lihd been located and destroyed, reports havlng niade from tlie East Coast to the West Goast and from Te Kuiti in thc soutli to Auckland in tlie north. "It is the honsewife .who will suffer most, if tiiis nest gains any further hold," said Mr. Paterson. " This speeics of wasp slioWs great determination in getting into houses, especially at meal time. Patients in the Waikato Ilospitai have been •coilstantly annoyed dUriiig their hieaRs by its persistent attempts to sliare their meal with them." . Weaker hives were also in danger, for irt his dpiniOn many of the killed-oul hives reported in the Waikato district recently were due to the operatiohs of the wasp. Mr. Paterson said the danger of the spreading'of germs also was very real.