Náttúrufræðingurinn

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Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1979, Page 46

Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1979, Page 46
Apidae, this family is briefly mentioned. Of the Apidae Bombus jonellus Kirby is the only indigenous species in Iceland. Apis mellifera L. on the other hand was introduced to the country in 1951, but did not survive for long. The true wasps have liitherto been completely missing as a part of the in- digenous Icelandic fauna. Until recently only single specimens have been record- ed, presumably only as casual visitors to the country. In 1978 a nest of Vespula vulgaris L. was discovered, the first proven instance of tlie true wasps reproducing in Iceland. lielow is a list of species and all known occurrences of wasps of the family Vespi- dae front Iceland. Only one of these is previously published. The specimens are kept at the Museum of Natural History, lleykjavík, unless othervise stated. Polistes gallicus L. (det. H. Andersson) 1. Reykjavík, 27 Sept. 1968, a worker found alive in a barrel of grapes im- portecl from Spain. 2. Kópavogur, 29 Oct. 1973, a worker found in a food store, in imported grapes. Vespula germanica F. 1. Reykjavík, Jan. 1937 (Petersen 1956), ?coll. Geir Gígja. 2. Akureyri, winter of 1967, a queen (Nat. Hist. Mus., Akureyri). 3. Reykjavík, Sept. 1973. This autumn the species appeared in great num- bers at a school in Reykjavík, of great nuisance to pupils and staff. Very likely a nest had been built in the school’s neigbourhood the preceding spring, but it was never found. A single worker is kept at the Nat. Hist. Mus. Reykjavík and a queen is kept at the school in question (Mennta- skólinn við Sund). 4. Reykjavík, 10 Sept. 1974, a worker. 5. Reykjavík, 8 March 1976, a queen. 6. Reykjavík, 4 July 1977, a queen. 7. Hafnarfjörður, 24 Sept. 1978, a work- er. Vcspula vulgaris L. 1. Reykjavík, 3 Nov. 1970, a queen found dead in a window of a book store. 2. Reykjavík, Oct. 1978. A nest was dis- covered in a backyard. I was inform- ed about the nest on 13 October. Dttring 13—14 October I collected 83 wasps (18 drones, 2 queens and 63 workers) by the entrance to the nest. The weather was cold making the wasps inactive and unable to fly. Two additional specimens (I male and 1 wprker) were brought to me. On 16 October the nest was dug up. Altogether 250 adult wasps (31 dron- es, 9 queens and 210 workers) and numerous larvae and pupae were found on this occasion. One of the queens was obviously the founder of the nest in view of her size and worn wings. According to information I re- ceived from people in the neighbour- hood, wasps were also observed in this same garden the summer before (1977). It seems that the species over- wintered successfully, which can mean the species is now firmly esta- blished as a member of the Icelandic fauna. 40

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