Description
Data Records
The data in this checklist resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 24 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Detoni M, Hayes L, Brown R (2026). Annotated inventory of invasive social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in the South Pacific, excluding Australia and Papua New Guinea. Version 1.0. NeoBiota. Checklist dataset. https://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=alien_social_wasps_pacific&v=1.0
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is NeoBiota. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 67ba62aa-5978-47a6-a06b-bea7d545ff7a. NeoBiota publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Bulgaria.
Keywords
Checklist; wasp; hornet; pest; invasive; alien; paper wasp; Pacific; New Zealand; French Polynesia; Polistes; Vespula; Vespa; Inventoryregional
Contacts
- Originator
- Originator
Geographic Coverage
Area including the cultural areas of Melanesia and Polynesia south of the Equator, limited by Australia and Papua New Guinea to the west and Easter Island to the east.
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [-56.945, -80], North East [0, 140.625] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
To build the inventory, we listed species of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae, Vespinae) known to have been introduced in recent human history.
| Order | Hymenoptera |
|---|---|
| Family | Vespidae (Vespid wasps) |
| Subfamily | Vespinae (Hornets, yellowjackets, and allies), Polistinae (Paper wasps) |
Project Data
No Description available
| Title | Social wasp invasions in the South Pacific |
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The personnel involved in the project:
- Author
- Author
Sampling Methods
All species included in this list are known to be native outside the South Pacific and have first record/invasion occurrences documented with some clarity. We searched the Web of Science and Google Scholar repositories using taxonomy-related keywords (“Vespidae”, “Polistinae”, “Vespinae”, “social wasp*”) coupled with both general geographical keywords (e.g. “Pacific”, “Oceania”) and specific ones relating to each country, territory, or region within our area of study (e.g. “Fiji”, “New Zealand”, “Tuoamotu Archipelago”). Results from this search were used to generate an exploratory dataset with candidate taxa and areas for social wasp introductions in the South Pacific. Based on these data, a second, comprehensive search was carried out at the same repositories with specific search queries (e.g., “Polistes aurifer” + “French Polynesia”) to obtain precise data referring to first records of introductions and invasive range for each recorded taxon and area. This second search was used to generate our final dataset.
| Study Extent | Data on species included in the dataset were sourced from publications reporting on their first occurrence in South Pacific islands (excl. Australia and Papua New Guinea) and double-checked against authoritative sources to confirm their status as non-native. |
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| Quality Control | To check for data quality and clean the final dataset, we referred to the GBIF (2025) database, as well as comprehensive and authoritative social Vespidae checklists published by Carpenter (1996) and Carpenter and Brown (2022). This step allowed us to check for deprecated taxonomic synonyms, as well as identify original introduction records and other records not present in scientific literature (e.g., entomological collection entries). |
Method step description:
- As described above
Additional Metadata
| Acknowledgements | The authors would like to thank Dr. Darren Ward (Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research – New Zealand) and Emily Curcio and Keith Araraki (Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum – Hawai’i, U.S.A.) for providing access to collection data on specimens. We also thank the editor and reviewers of this manuscript for their valuable contributions. This research was funded as part of a Whakarau Whakaaro | Germinating Ideas grant (Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research/ Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment of New Zealand). |
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| Maintenance Description | This dataset may be updated as new introductions or establishments are confirmed for the area of interest. |
| Alternative Identifiers | 67ba62aa-5978-47a6-a06b-bea7d545ff7a |
| https://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=alien_social_wasps_pacific |