Effects of different habitats on the productivity of the native paper wasp Polistes fuscatus and the invasive, exotic paper wasp P. dominulus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Abstract

We examined the colony productivities of the native paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus (Fab.),(Hymenoptera: Vespidae), and the invasive, exotic paper wasp, P. dominulus (Christ), in oak forest, oak forest-old field ecotone, and old field habitats at the Oakland University Preserve in Rochester, Michigan from 2003 to 2005. Both species of paper wasps exhibited significant differences in colony productivity among the three habitats. Generally, colonies were the most productive in the old field habitat and the least productive in the oak forest habitat. Colonies of P. dominulus were significantly more productive than comparable colonies of P. fuscatus in all three habitats. There was no evidence that P. fuscatus was more competitive with P. dominulus in any of the three habitats. Thus, our results do not support the suggestion of Gamboa et al. (2004) and Liebert et al. (2006) that P. fuscatus may be more competitive with P. dominulus in less disturbed or forest habitats than in urban and rural habitats.