Yellowjacket Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Trapped in Alaska with Heptyl Butyrate, Acetic Acid and Isobutanol

Eight species of vespine wasps were captured in traps near Fairbanks, Delta Junction and Palmer, Alaska, during 2003 and 2004. These were Vespula vulgaris L., V. acadica (Sladen), V. consobrina (Saussure), V. rufa (L.)(= intermedia [Buysson]), Dolichovespula maculata (L.), D. arenaria (F.), D. norwegica (F.)(= albida [Sladen]), and D. norvegicoides (Sladen). Workers and males of V. vulgaris were captured primarily in traps baited with the combination of acetic acid and isobutanol. Workers of V. acadica , V. consobrina , and V. rufa were captured primarily in traps baited with heptyl butyrate. Queens and workers of D. maculata were captured primarily in traps baited with acetic acid, or acetic acid plus isobutanol. The small numbers of D. arenaria , D. norvegicoides , and D. norwegica captured did not permit treatment comparisons. Season-long trapping indicated a presence of V. acadica, V. consobrina , and V. rufa workers from late June through July, D. maculata from early July into early August, and V. vulgaris from late July to early September. The earliest wasps captured were queens of V. vulgaris and D. maculata in late May, while the latest wasp captured was a worker of V. vulgaris the first week of October, in Palmer.