Hornets and yellowjackets

[Federico López]

Dear members of the Vermont Entomological Society,

I'm a Biology student at the University of Vermont and one of my main
research interests is the taxonomy of Vespinae wasps (hornets and
yellowjackets). The nests of these wasps are typically protected by
envelops and found in hollow logs, trees, attics, between walls or
underground. I would be very thankful if you could please suggest some
locations where I could look for hornets and yellowjackets. Perhaps I
could visit different State Parks (http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/
map.htm), but I still need to find out what permits would be necessary
to collect. Any help will be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Federico

[Graham, Alan]

Frederico,
I would recommend placing an ad in the local newspaper indicating what you are doing and that you are willing to remove wasp and hornet nests.

A fellow graduate school friend did this one summer and sold frozen identified wasps to a pharmaceutical company for money. He actually made money on both ends, by removing the vespids for a fee and then selling them for allergy injections.

You could also try tracking wasps by using an attractant to capture, mark and release them. I have used it to locate honey bee colonies and it may work for wasps and hornets.

Alan Graham
Vermont Agency of Agriculture

[Federico López]

Hi Mr. Graham,

Ok, I will try placing an ad in the local newspaper. Thank you for your help.

Best,

Federico

--

Federico Lopez-Osorio

Graduate Student

109 Carrigan Drive

120A Marsh Life Science Building

Department of Biology

University of Vermont

Burlington, VT 05405