Viral load, not food availability or temperature, predicts colony longevity in an invasive eusocial wasp with plastic life history

The western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, exhibits plasticity in colony longevity, exhibiting either an annual colony cycle (declining in winter) or perennial colony cycle (persisting for multiple years). We used a combination of feeding and passive heating manipulations as well as pathogen screens to identify ecological factors influencing colony longevity. These are the data from the paper, "Viral load, not food availability or temperature, predicts colony longevity in an invasive eusocial wasp with plastic life history."

Methods
Wasp activity was monitored weekly or biweekly over three years as described in the paper. We provided a subset of colonies with food supplementation, and a subset of colonies with passive heating devices (ITEX cones). Details can be found in the paper. We also sampled workers from each colony monitored (control colonies and manipulated colonies) and screened for pathogens. We then used linear models and survival analyses to assess which factors significantly correlated with colony longevity. Details can be found in the published paper.