Impacts of German yellowjacket (<em>Vespula germanica</em>) removal on pollinator communities in Western New York

Invasive social insects can restructure native arthropod communities through predation and competition. Vespula germanica (German yellowjacket) is a globally invasive wasp species that dominates vespid assemblages across urban and suburban landscapes. This study tested the hypothesis that reducing V. germanica on populations would increase native pollinator abundance and species richness and native Vespula abundance. Using protein-based fipronil baits, V. germanica was experimentally suppressed at suburban and urban sites. Pollinator abundance and richness increased with V. germanica baiting. Native Vespula had mixed results from baiting, with suburban sites increasing in overall abundance and urban sites decreasing. These results indicate that suppressing dominant invasive wasps can facilitate native arthropod resurgence but also reveal context-dependent outcomes influenced by land use. Overall, this study underscores the complex and often mixed ecological consequences of invasive soci..., , # Impacts of German yellowjacket (*Vespula germanica*) removal on pollinator communities in Western New York Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.gmsbcc31g](10.5061/dryad.gmsbcc31g) ## Description of the data and file structure #### File: Data_dryad.csv ##### Variables * Date: data traps collected * Week: sampling week * Gradient: land use (Suburban, Urban) * Spatial: sampling cluster (Suburban, Urban; 10 m, 450 m) * Treatment: Bait, Control * Richness: arthropod richness * Vgermanica: *Vespula germanica* * Vmaculifrons: *Vespula maculifrons* * Vflavopilosa: *Vespula flavopilosa* * Vvulgaris: *Vespula vulgaris* * Vic.Diptera: Victor trap, Diptera * Vic.Hymenoptera: Victor trap, Hymenoptera * Vic.Coleoptera: Victor trap, Coleoptera * Vic.Lepidoptera: Victor trap, Lepidoptera * BV.Diptera: Blue vane trap, Diptera * BV.Coleoptera: Blue vane trap, Coleoptera * BV.Lepidoptera: Blue vane trap, Lepidoptera * BV.Hymenoptera: Blue vane trap, Hymenoptera * BV.ApisMellifera: Blue vane trap, Apis Melli..., ,