Yellow does not improve the effi ciency of traps for capturing wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Abstract

Social wasps are often considered as nuisance pests in urban environments and are often controlled by using traps. The majority of commercially produced traps for catching wasps have yellow as the dominant colour around the trap entrance. However, the observations on the function of yellow as an attractant for wasps are controversial. The effi ciency of yellow, compared with green striped (N = 15) and yellow and green striped beer traps (N = 15) was evaluated. According to the results, yellow does not have a specifi c role as an attractant for wasps of the genera Vespula Linnaeus and Dolichovespula (Rohwer). For wasps, it may be the bait that is the major lure and it might be suffi cient on its own for both control and monitoring purposes.