Only here nest the 4 species of vultures present in EuropaLos pesticides harmful to bees could kill also the pájarosLa threat by the wasp asian shoots after a spring warm
The wasp asian , one of the species that is most invasive in the world, and expansion in western Europe , represents a threat to the native biodiversity, beekeeping and human health, explains the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), a joint center of the Higher Council of Scientific Research and the Pompeu Fabra University, in a note.
A team of said academic institution has discovered that the european honey buzzard is able to prey on the nests active wasp asian in the moments of maximum productivity of their colonies. Such predatory day could, in his opinion, become an ally to control the population of wasp was asian.
The species of wasp that live in large colonies long-term (5-6 months) are their favorite. The wasp asian fits this pattern. In addition, the period in which its colonies containing more larvae coincides with the maximum requirement of food by the honey buzzard.
The wasp asian makes a nest very large, up to almost a meter, and are used to build it in the high parts of the trees , which prevents the honey buzzard, when the manipulate, you are in a situation vulnerable to the attacks of land-based predator.
The birds of prey are particularly sensitive to pollutants and, in particular, in the case of the honey buzzard, a previous study has demonstrated the presence of neonicotinoids in your blood -a set of insecticides that have a negative effect on the birds-. For this reason, the experts consider it essential that the avisperos treated with pesticides are removed from the natural environment.
extreme Ability to locate nests
Between 2011 and 2018, the research team studied the nests of a population of honey buzzard which nests in the parks of the Barcelona Provincial council and picked up the diet that provided the adults to the chicks .
In 2018, we detected fragments of a hornet’s nest with a few cells of very large dimensions in one of the nests sampled. By their measures could only correspond to a wasp native very rare in this area, the hornet (Vespa crabro), or the wasp asian. To identify the species techniques were used for genetic analysis. And it was possible to determine, without a doubt, that these are fragments of a nest of the second.
“there were Already signs and quite a few suspicions that the honey buzzard could despoil the nests of the wasp asian, but now, thanks to the genetic techniques , we have been able to prove”, explains Roger Vila, of the IBE.
If we consider that the wasp asian barely has colonized the environment of Barcelona , it is surprising how quickly -a year – with that the bird has incorporated this new source of food, underline the authors.
The honey buzzard is very adapted to prey on the nests of wasps due to their feathers overlap like the scales of a fish , in order to avoid bites. Its peak has the perfect way to extract with high speed the larvae of the avisperos. And has an extreme ability to locate as much nests of wasps built under the ground as on the surface, details F. X. Macià, an expert on birds of prey and first author of the article.
“To preserve the populations of this raptor so shy it would be convenient to prevent impacts on the breeding areas; not carrying out, for example, performances forestry near nests between April and August,” recalls Macia.
