Molecular Identification of Asian Hornet Prey from Larval Gut Contents: A Promising Method to Study the Diet of an Invasive Pest.

The Asian hornet, (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), is an invasive hornet that was accidentally introduced into Europe in 2004. It mainly preys on other invertebrates and arthropod species, and often targets honey bee () colonies. The introduction of these hornets may damage indigenous fauna and apiculture. Knowledge of prey preference and the species composition of their diet is relatively limited. In this study, we assessed methodologies for the molecular identification of prey using dissected larvae from destroyed nests. Ten larval samples were taken from five nests in areas where the hornets had not yet established: two from the Channel Islands and three in the mainland UK. DNA was extracted from the gut contents and sequenced and analysed by metabarcoding with Oxford Nanopore Technologies' Flongle and MinION devices. Numerous taxa were detected in each larval sample with the species composition varying by individual and by nest. Between 15 and 26 species were found per nest, with wasps ( spp.), spiders, honey bees and blow flies being the most abundant taxa. These results demonstrate that metabarcoding larval gut contents can be used to study the Asian hornet diet and give a first snapshot of the prey items captured by in the UK. This method could be used for future large-scale testing of the gut contents of hornet nests, in order to provide a greater insight into the foraging behaviour of this predator across Europe and elsewhere.