Asian Paper Wasp

Appearance

The Asian paper wasp has a slender body about 13 to 25 mm in length. Their bodies are reddish brown or black, with yellow rings and reddish areas on the abdomen. Their wings are reddish or amber brown, and they have long legs that hang down during flight. The general morphology of the spermatheca is similar in both reproductive and non- reproductive individuals. The spermathecal gland attaches to the central region of the spermatheca.

Distribution

The paper wasp is native to East Asia. It has been recorded in China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. The subspecies "P. chinensis antennalis" is invasive in New Zealand. It is widespread in the North Island and the northern South Island and competes with native species for food, It has since been recorded in Norfolk Island and New South Wales. At least two independent invasion events, linked to Kanto and Kyushu, Japan, have been proposed as sources of the New Zealand wasps. The Asian paper wasp was first recorded in New Zealand in 1979, in Kohimarama and the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. It remained confined to these areas of Auckland until 1984, when it began appearing in inner city areas and western suburbs.

Habitat

The Asian paper wasp frequently constructs nests on man-made structures including houses and buildings. It will also build nests on trees or bushes, usually on branches, but sometimes on leaves as well. "P. chinensis" prefers to colonize urban habitats, but nests have also been recorded near forest clearings. They sometimes build their nests in dense shrubs, making them difficult to locate. Large populations usually develop in warm, lowland areas with open habitat such as shrublands, swamps and meadows.

Reproduction

Workers police each others' eggs. 88.5% of queens' eggs survive to hatching vs 1.4% of workers'. Worker reproduction is frequent in queen-right colonies in which the queen is alive. Both queen and workers replaced workers' eggs. P. chinensis was studied alongside Polistes snelleni for comparison in this conflict. In P. snelleni, queens monopolize egg production. Queens contributed 2.4 times more to replacing than workers. Workers sequentially perform oophagy and oviposition in the same cells. The ratio of worker-produced eggs to eggs laid by the queen is 3 or 4 times to one in a colony having between 100 and 500 wasps.

Food

"P. chinensis" collects nectar and honeydew from flowers. The wasp preys on invertebrates, preferring larvae and caterpillars of lepidopteran insects for protein resources, but may also feed on marine invertebrates or fish carrion when the opportunity arises. Asian paper wasps also feed on the larvae of other conspecific females. Larval saliva is an important nutrient resource for adult Asian paper wasps. This contains a high concentration of free amino acids, 50 times that of floral nectars, and is nutritionally analogous to nectar.