The Spotted Lanternfly ($Lycorma\ delicatula$) is a high-profile invasive planthopper that has spread rapidly across parts of the United States, posing a threat to agricultural crops like grapes and fruit trees. The Yellow Jacket ($Vespula$ species) is a common, aggressive social wasp, often mistaken for a bee. These two species—one a destructive newcomer, the other a native generalist predator—have crossed paths in infested areas. The question of whether the Yellow Jacket preys on the Spotted Lanternfly investigates how native North American insects are adapting to this new food source.
Understanding the Yellow Jacket’s Diet
Yellow Jackets are opportunistic social wasps with a diet that changes significantly throughout the season, driven by the nutritional needs of their colony. Early in the year, as the colony is expanding, the adult workers must find protein-rich food to feed the developing larvae housed within the nest. This protein comes from hunting other insects, such as caterpillars, flies, and spiders, which the workers chew and condition before feeding to the young.
This hunting behavior serves the colony’s growth, as the larvae are the only members capable of digesting solid protein. In return for the protein meal, the larvae secrete a sugary liquid that the adult workers consume, an exchange known as trophallaxis. As the season transitions into late summer and early fall, the queen stops laying eggs and the larvae mature, ending the colony’s internal source of sugar and the need for protein. The adult Yellow Jackets then aggressively seek external sources of carbohydrates, such as nectar, ripe fruits, and the sugary residue left by other insects.
When and How Yellow Jackets Prey on Lanternflies
Yellow Jackets do prey on the Spotted Lanternfly, primarily when their colony’s demand for protein is highest. This aligns with the life cycle of the lanternfly, which begins as small, soft-bodied nymphs in the spring and early summer. The wasps will target these smaller, less mobile nymph stages, especially the first to third instars, because they are easier to subdue and represent a readily available protein package.
Adult Spotted Lanternflies, which are larger, faster, and possess fully developed wings, are less frequently targeted as regular prey. Anecdotal observations and footage have shown Yellow Jackets attacking and even dismantling adult Lanternflies, but these encounters are more challenging for the wasp. When a successful attack occurs, the Yellow Jacket uses its mandibles to dismember the Lanternfly, carrying pieces of the soft tissue back to the nest to provision the larval brood. This behavior is a manifestation of the Yellow Jacket’s generalist predatory nature, incorporating a new, abundant food source into its protein-gathering routine.
Limits of Yellow Jackets as Natural Pest Control
While the Yellow Jacket’s predatory behavior against the Spotted Lanternfly occurs, their overall impact on the invasive species’ population remains limited. Yellow Jackets are generalist predators, meaning they do not specialize in hunting only one type of prey. They prioritize easier, more abundant targets, such as common caterpillars or flies, over a difficult or potentially toxic Lanternfly.
The Spotted Lanternfly also possesses chemical defenses; it feeds on the Tree of Heaven ($Ailanthus\ altissima$), an invasive plant from which it can sequester compounds that make it unpalatable or toxic to some predators. Yellow Jackets are also attracted to the sugary waste, called honeydew, that Lanternflies excrete, which can distract the wasps from actual predation.
This attraction increases the visibility of Yellow Jackets in infested areas but does not translate into a significant reduction in Lanternfly numbers. Ultimately, Yellow Jackets act as one component of a broader community of native predators, but their predation rate is not sufficient to control the population growth and spread of a major infestation on its own.