Vespa velutina: a menace for Western Iberian fruit production

Abstract

The Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) is an invasive species that causes severely negative impacts on the ecosystems’ functioning, human health and agriculture. Its impact extends to the detriment of orchards and vineyards as the species feeds on fruits to obtain sugar, consequently diminishing the marketable yield and reducing the overall quantity of final products. The survey presented in this manuscript aimed to study the agricultural technicians’ appraisal of fruit damage caused by V. velutina since its appearance in the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula. In Galicia, Spain, 83% of technicians reported incidents on fruit damage, primarily affecting grapes, but also on pears and apples. In Portugal, 25% of technicians reported similar occurrences covering 8 species of fruit, notably on grapes, but also on apples, pears, figs, plums, peaches, blueberries and blackberries. This outcome showcases how V. velutina may cause non-negligible, direct detriment to fruit production, particularly to grapes. More studies are needed to quantify the economic impact of this type of damage.

Keywords:

• Agriculture
• invasive species
• orchards
• risk assessment
• vineyards
• yellow-legged hornet

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Manuel Tejada
• University of Seville
• Spain

SUBJECTS:

• Agriculture & Environmental Sciences
• Plant & Animal Ecology
• Entomology
• Zoology

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the various entities that contributed to the dissemination of the survey and the technicians who took the time to respond. Anabela Nave is supported by National Funds from FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UIDB/04033/2020. Manuela Branco is supported by the Forest Research Centre, a research unit funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P. (FCT), Portugal (UIBD/00239/2020) and the Laboratory for Sustainable Land Use and Ecosystem Services—TERRA (LA/P/0092/2020). We thank the reviewers for their constructive and helpful comments, which have significantly improved the quality and clarity of our manuscript.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, N.A. and G.J.; methodology, N.A., G.J. and G.A; software, F.J.; formal analysis, N.A., F.J., G.A. and G.M.; research, N.A., G.A. and G.M.; resources, N.A., F.J., G.A. and G.M.; data analysis, N.A. and B.M.; writing—original draft preparation, A.N. and B.M; writing—review and editing, N.A., G.J., G.A., G.M. and B.M.; visualization, N.A., G.J., F.J., G.A., G.M. and B.M.; funding G.J and G.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

All available data are incorporated in tables and figures within the manuscript. The datasets that were generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area Program (European Regional Development Fund, European Union): EAPA_800/2018-Atlantic-POSitive.