Yellow jackets and spotted lanternflies are common insects. The spotted lanternfly, an invasive species, causes concern due to its rapid spread and potential damage to agriculture and ecosystems. Yellow jackets are familiar, often misunderstood insects. This article explores whether yellow jackets prey on lanternflies.
Yellow Jacket Feeding Habits
Yellow jackets are social wasps with a diverse, opportunistic diet that changes throughout their life cycle. Adult yellow jackets primarily seek carbohydrates like sugars from flower nectar, fruit, and tree sap for energy. This draws them to sweet substances, including human foods.
Their developing larvae require significant protein. Adult yellow jackets hunt various insects, including caterpillars, flies, grasshoppers, and spiders, to meet this need. They are generalist predators. The adult wasps capture these insects, chew them into a digestible paste, and feed this protein-rich material to their larvae. This predatory behavior is most pronounced in early colony development when protein demand for growing larvae is highest.
Known Lanternfly Predators
As an invasive species, the spotted lanternfly often lacks highly effective natural predators in its introduced range, contributing to its rapid population growth. However, some native species have been observed opportunistically feeding on them. Praying mantises, including both Carolina and Chinese species, have shown effectiveness in preying on lanternflies across all life stages. Spined soldier bugs, a type of predatory stink bug, also consume lanternflies effectively.
Other generalist insect predators like garden spiders and wheel bugs have been noted to prey on spotted lanternflies. Certain bird species, such as gray catbirds, have also been observed eating them. Beyond direct predation, some biological control efforts are underway, including the study of parasitic wasps like Anastatus orientalis and Dryinus sinicus, which parasitize lanternfly eggs and nymphs. Additionally, entomopathogenic fungi, such as Beauveria bassiana, have been identified as causing disease in spotted lanternflies and are being researched as potential controls.
Yellow Jackets and Lanternflies: An Ecological Perspective
Yellow jackets have been observed preying on spotted lanternflies, sometimes eating both live and dead individuals. They are also strongly attracted to honeydew, a sugary waste product excreted by lanternflies. This provides a readily available carbohydrate source for adult yellow jackets.
While yellow jackets consume spotted lanternflies, they are not considered a significant or effective natural predator for controlling large lanternfly populations. As generalist predators, yellow jackets hunt a wide range of insects. Their broad diet means their impact on any single pest population, particularly a widespread invasive one, is limited. Relying on generalist predators for invasive species control is generally not effective. Although some incidental predation occurs, yellow jackets are not a solution to widespread lanternfly infestations.