European wasp numbers on the rise in Adelaide Hills
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European wasp numbers are rising in the Adelaide Hills due to South Australia's warm weather and a good available food source, says Professor Andy Austin from the Environment Institute's Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity.
"We didn't have a really cold winter last year, which is when the hibernating wasp queens tend to die off. There is also good food source for the wasps, which means the nests are bigger and there are more foraging. The numbers are at their highest now because the colonies have been around for so long."
Professor Andy Austin's interview, entitled "A sting in the tail of hills pest," was published in the Advertiser on Friday 27 March, 2015.
More information about evolutionary biology and biodiversity can be found at the Environment Institute website.
[/caption]European wasp numbers are rising in the Adelaide Hills due to South Australia's warm weather and a good available food source, says Professor Andy Austin from the Environment Institute's Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity.
"We didn't have a really cold winter last year, which is when the hibernating wasp queens tend to die off. There is also good food source for the wasps, which means the nests are bigger and there are more foraging. The numbers are at their highest now because the colonies have been around for so long."
Professor Andy Austin's interview, entitled "A sting in the tail of hills pest," was published in the Advertiser on Friday 27 March, 2015.
More information about evolutionary biology and biodiversity can be found at the Environment Institute website.
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