Choi Moon Bo, Hong Eui Jeong, Kwon Ohseok
School of Applied Biosciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
PeerJ. 2021 Apr 6;9:e11249. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11249. eCollection 2021.
During recent years, invasion of the yellow-legged hornet () has occurred in Europe, Korea and Japan, and stinging accidents often occur as some nests are in places where humans can reach them. Misleading information regarding precautionary measures for mitigating wasp attacks has only exacerbated the situation. In this study, we sought to identify appropriate countermeasures by analyzing wasp defensive behavior, with a focus on color, hair and auditory stimuli.
Defensive behavior was analyzed using video recordings by creating an experimental frame to attach experimental bundles to nine nests in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, South Korea. For the color experiment, eight-color and single-color tests were conducted with bundles of eight colors (black, brown, yellow, green, orange, gray, red and white), and the difference in defensive behavior was tested between black hair/hairless and green hair/black hairless configurations.
When presented simultaneously with bundles of eight different colors, showed the greatest and the longest defensive behavior against the black bundle, followed by brown. A similar response was observed in single-color tests. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the defensive behavior against black hair and black hairless, but the duration of defensive behavior was longer for black hair. A comparison between green hair and black hairless stimuli indicated that wasps are more sensitive to color than to hair texture. showed no discernible responses when exposed to selected auditory stimuli (human conversation and loud music). Dark colors and dark hair are characteristic features of potential predators, to which wasps are evolutionarily predisposed, and are accordingly likely to provoke strong defensive responses. The results of this study provide scientifically credible information that can be used to base appropriate precautionary measures against wasp attacks.
近年来，黄脚胡蜂已入侵欧洲、韩国和日本，由于一些蜂巢位于人类能够触及的地方，蜇人事故经常发生。关于减轻黄蜂攻击的预防措施的误导性信息只会使情况更加恶化。在本研究中，我们试图通过分析黄蜂的防御行为来确定适当的对策，重点关注颜色、毛发和听觉刺激。
通过创建一个实验框架，将实验束附着在韩国大邱和庆北的9个蜂巢上，利用录像分析防御行为。对于颜色实验，用8种颜色（黑色、棕色、黄色、绿色、橙色、灰色、红色和白色）的束进行八色和单色测试，并测试黑色毛发/无毛和绿色毛发/黑色无毛配置之间防御行为的差异。
当同时呈现8种不同颜色的束时，黄蜂对黑色束表现出最大且最长时间的防御行为，其次是棕色。在单色测试中也观察到类似的反应。此外，对黑色毛发和无毛的防御行为没有显著差异，但黑色毛发的防御行为持续时间更长。绿色毛发和黑色无毛刺激之间的比较表明，黄蜂对颜色比对毛发质地更敏感。当暴露于选定的听觉刺激（人类对话和大声播放的音乐）时，黄蜂没有明显反应。深色和深色毛发是潜在捕食者的特征，黄蜂在进化上对其有倾向，因此可能引发强烈的防御反应。本研究结果提供了科学可信的信息，可用于制定针对黄蜂攻击的适当预防措施。
