title: Impacts of introduced common wasps (Vespula vulgaris) on experimentally placed mealworms in a New Zealand beech forest.
abstract: An introduced social wasp Vespula vulgaris may compete with native birds for honeydew and invertebrates in New Zealand forests. Experimentally hidden mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) persisted longer at two sites following wasp poisoning that at two sites where wasps were not poisoned. Mealworms persisted longer in the morning than in the afternoon within all study sites. An unusually low mealworm removal rate during a morning trial before wasp poisoning heavily influences the results of this experiment but we have no ecological reason to ignore it. Wasps may therefore be having a heavy impact on invertebrate abundance on very short time scales (within a day following dawn emergence). They may also remove cached food items that would otherwise be retrieved by the South Island robin (Petroica australis australis) during cold or dark feeding conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. kirsty.barr@stonebow.otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Kirsty
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barr
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moller
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Christmas
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lyver
authors.affiliation: Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Private Bag 6, Nelson, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beggs
keywords: Cached food; Competition; Ecological impact; Petroica australis australis; Vespula vulgaris