European Wasp (3/6)

Hymenoptera: Vespidae

Vespula Germanica  

We found two European Wasp nests in the Elizabeth Lake section of the Great Otway National Park. They were easily found by following the stream of wasps going to and coming from them. Judging by the stream, each nest must have been home to hundreds, if not thousands, of wasps.

According to Museum Victoria, European Wasps have been known in Victoria only since 1977, and they first arrived in Australia in Tasmania less than twenty years before that. They are now well established in both places, and also in the other southern states.