It's a wrap for the 2021-22 European wasp season, which ran from late October 2021 through to June 2022. During this time, over 3000 traps were deployed across a massive 98, 700 ha (987 km2) of the Perth metropolitan area, as well as throughout regional WA. If you were trapping with us, it is now time to bring in your trap.
Although up from last year, a relatively low total of 53 nests were detected and destroyed this season. Over 90% of these nests were found underground by the department's Biosecurity Officers, however four nests were also discovered in tree hollows. This season's nests were found across 11 of Perth's Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 24 different suburbs. See the table below for the number of nests in each LGA and suburb. An interactive map of the nest locations from the 2016-17 season to the current season can be viewed at European Wasp Nest Locations (2016 onwards) [1]
Over 400 public enquiries relating to European wasp were received by the department's Pest and Disease Information Service [2] this season, leading to 12 positive nest detections. And the department's Adopt-a-trap [3] program received 174 new subscribers, which is a is a huge boost to European wasp surveillance and will significantly enhance the department’s ability to effectively eliminate this pest each year.
Watch out for the start of the next season of European wasp surveillance in November / December 2022.
Table of European wasp nest detections in each Perth suburb during the 2021-22 surveillance season.
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[5]
Map of the 2021-22 European wasp nest locations
Interactive map link: Nest and Trap locations (2021-22) [6]
[7]
Map of the 2021-22 European wasp trap locations