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More than 50 000 social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) were collected between March and August 1987 from throughout New Zealand. The most widespread species is the German wasp ( Vespula germanica ). The common wasp ( V. vulgaris ) has colonised about half the country and appears to be still spreading. It tends to appear in urban areas first, presumably because it is transported there with people and/or their belongings. The Asian paper wasp ( Polistes chinensis ) and Australian paper wasp ( P. humilis ), are confined to the northern half of the North Island, but the former species is spreading south.
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Clapperton et al. (1989) studied this question.
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