Common wasps, Vespula vulgaris (Hymenoptera, Vespidae), utilise a wide breadth of plants to build nests, as determined via chloroplast metabarcoding

Social wasps in the genus Vespula are widely distributed and often considered invasive. Their nests are made of papier-mâché resulting from the drying out of moist woodpulp. They typically build nests in the ground, although aerial nests in trees, woodsheds, roofs, or walls of dwellings are often encountered in suburban areas. The aim of this study was to determine the plant composition of V. vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758) nests using a DNA metabarcoding approach developed for paper wasp nests. We collected nests in southern North Island, New Zealand. A total of 453 genera of plants were incorporated into the six nests studied. Most frequently utilised for nest construction were plant genera in the Araliaceae family, Camellia, Melicytus, Muehlenbeckia, Phyllocladus, Callistemon, and Phytolacca. Plant material composition did not vary with ontogeny of the nest. Similar plant genera were used earlier in the season, during the period of nest growth, and for the outer envelope. Vespula vulgaris appears to be an opportunistic gatherer of nest material, collecting what is close and readily available around nest sites. They are generalists in their use of nest material, able to utilise a wide range of native and exotic plants for nest building. Because of the wide diversity and variety of plants utilised, our results suggest that availability of plants for nest material is unlikely to be a limiting factor in wasp establishment and their distribution potential. To the best of our knowledge, this study constitutes the first molecular insights into the nest material composition of Vespula wasps.