Presentation by Andre Visser
Email: sales@keyindustries.co.nz
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Wasps – the Issues at Hand
Social issues
- Disruption to recreational activities, safety outdoors –
Environmental issues
- Inability for birds to feed on Honey Dew has resulted a major impact of wasps, 1.4 and 8.1 kg of invertebrates per hectare each season -the identifiable prey items, about 27% were spiders, 23% caterpillars, 18% ants and bees, 16% flies, and 16% other.
Economic issues
- Cost economy more than $130 million dollars a year, with the biggest economic impacts on farming, beekeeping, horticulture and forestry workers.
- More than $60 million a year in costs to pastoral farming from wasps disrupting bee pollination activities, reducing the amount of clover in pastures and increasing fertiliser costs.
- Almost $9 million a year cost to beekeepers from wasps attacking honey bees, robbing their honey and destroying hives.
- Wasp-related traffic accidents estimated to cost $1.4 million a year.
- Over $1 million each year spent on health costs from wasp stings.
- On top of the direct costs, almost $60 million a year is lost in unrealised honey production from beech forest honeydew which is currently being monopolised by wasps.