Story: Introduced animal pests

German wasps

German wasps

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.

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Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand
Reference: In0115LC1t; In0597Mrt (inset)

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How to cite this page:

Bob Brockie, 'Introduced animal pests - Deer, goats, pigs and wasps', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/10140/german-wasps (accessed 6 May 2024)

Story by Bob Brockie, published 24 Sep 2007, updated 1 Jul 2015