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According to ASEFOGA, the accidental arrival of the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) has become a threat to the pollinating entomofauna since the basis of the feeding of the young of this species is found in the local insect fauna, becoming a strong predator that threatens pollinating biodiversity.

The pollinating action of insects is indispensable for global food production and a key ecosystem service. For this reason, conserving wild insect populations must be a priority, and to aid conservation it is necessary to know the threats that affect their development.

That is why the entity points out that it is urgent to have a better characterization of the diet of the Vespa velutina and to be able to determine to what extent its attacks affect the biodiversity of arthropods, in order to know its behavior patterns and be able to make a more effective control of this invasive species.

The main objective of the project was to quantify the effect of the presence of Vespa velutina on the pollinating entomofauna.

The specific objectives are:

• Obtain existing information related to the field of study.
• Qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the biodiversity of the affected pollinating entomofauna.
• To evaluate the possible consequences of the disappearance of pollinating entomofauna on plant biodiversity.
• Study the ethology or behavior of the invasive species Vespa velutina.
• Identify possible natural enemies of the invasive species Vespa velutina.

• Study of the art and selection of areas and hives to be studied.
• Monitoring and control of the hives under study.
• Capture of Vespa velutina specimens and study of their predation spectrum.
• Data analysis and final results.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

The Pollinating Biodiversity project has contributed to the study of the effects on biodiversity caused by the Asian hornet, Vespa vetulina, a species that has been included in the “Spanish Catalogue of Invasive Exotic Species”, in the “Strategy for the management, control and possible eradication of the Asian hornet or black wasp (Vespa velutina ssp. nigrithorax) in Spain”, and in the “Protocol of vixilancia e control fronte á vespa asiatica (Vespa velutina)” approved by the Ministry of Rural Affairs of the Xunta de Galicia. Vespa vetulina is considered a very aggressive invasive alien species. The climate and access to different resources have favored their expansion and installation in the northern and western fringe of the Iberian Peninsula.

In the project, the invasive behavior of the species has been studied, for which eight nests in four areas of Galicia have been monitored and the damage it can cause both in the ecosystem where it settles and in the hives of honey bees (Apis mellifera) near its nests have been observed. The areas studied were those close to: Concello de Cervo, North Coast area, Lugo (Galicia); Concello de Sanxenxo, West Coast area, Pontevedra (Galicia); Concellos de As Neves and A Cañiza, Southwest Interior area, Pontevedra (Galicia); and Concello de Lobeira, Southeast Interior area (ISE), Ourense (Galicia).

As a conclusion of the project, it can be highlighted that Vespa vetulina is capable of considerably disturbing the ecosystems in which it is found, since it competes for resources and food with other animal species and alters the behavior of pollinating insects by being subjected to permanent stress due to the pressure exerted by the predator. The impacts caused by the Asian hornet are, on the one hand, socioeconomic due to its impact on the beekeeping and fruit sectors and, on the other, environmental, because they alter food chains, decrease entomological biodiversity, alter the behavior of pollinator species, such as the honey bee (Apis mellifera), and compete for resources with native hornets, such as the European hornet (Vespa cabro), and for food with other species of birds, reptiles or amphibians.

Likewise, the presence of nests of this invasive species in areas close to human populations can pose a serious public health problem.

The results of the project also include the organization’s outreach work in disseminating the problem of the invasive species, carrying out intense knowledge transfer work with the delivery of documentation and awareness-raising material to numerous public administrations responsible for biodiversity.