Vespa velutina nigrithorax Lepeltier, 1836 from Hamburg (Northern Germany) shares the same COI haplotype with other European populations

By

Husemann, Martin
Dey, Lara-Sophie
Hawlitschek, Oliver

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020

Original Publication

Journal of Hymenoptera research

Volume

79

Pages

111--115

Subjects

Asian hornet , France , honey bees , Italy , yellow legged hornet

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Washington, D.C International Society of Hymenopterists

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.79.57048

 

Abstract

The yellow-legged, or Asian hornet,Vespa velutina, has invaded large parts of South-Western Europe and now starts spreading further north. Recently, it has been reported from Hamburg, Northern Germany. Yet, the origin of this new invasion is not clear as the founders may have come either from Southern Europe or from Asia. We here use COI sequences to test these alternatives and find that the specimens from Hamburg share the same haplotype with all Southern European samples. This suggests that the species has been transported long distance from other Europe to Northern Germany and shows further its high invasion potential.