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To Vespa Asás
Flies, butterflies, scarab, spiders and, mostly, important flower pollinators were found in the bowels of the dangerous Asian wasps that spread across Europe. And there is worse: they are highly adaptable.
Already famous for its negative impact on precious bees, the Asian wasps are not limited to these pollinators, so similar, but smaller: they eat more than 1400 insect speciesaccording to an investigation on Tuesday at Science of the Total Environment.
This devastating number includes many fundamental pollinators for maintaining ecosystems: 43 of the 50 most consumed species by Asian wasps are known flower polemany key pollinators such as the European Melífera bee, the glossy tail bee and the red tail bee.
The study by researchers from the University of Exeter involved the analysis of deep sequences of wasp larvae collected in France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Jersey.
The team found that although the (European) melipheous bees remain the most common prey in the Asian Wasp Diet – found in almost every nest and almost every larvae – these murderers They also eat flies, scarab, butterflies, moths and even spiders.
But more worrying was the confirmation that the Asian wasps are adaptable predators: They change their diet according to the seasons and the regions, which makes them even more dangerous to the environment than what was thought.
The invasive species has rapidly expanded by Western Europe. In Portugal, their nests are also a problem and are increasingly spotted: and kill some frequently.
“Our study provides important additional evidence of the threat represented by Asian wasps as they spread across Europe,” concluded Peter Kennedy of the Environment and Sustainability of Exeter, quoted by.
