These German wasps are feeding on honeydew on a beech tree. The wasp (inset) competes for the honeydew, depriving native birds of an important food source. In some areas of New Zealand there are very high densities of wasps. In beech forest with honeydew, the weight of all the wasps living there exceeds that of all the native birds.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand
Reference:
In0115LC1t; In0597Mrt (inset)
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