Wasp nest excavation in New Zealand

This is a video of me digging an invasive German wasp (Vespula germanica) nest for my research on biological control wasps at Landcare Research in NZ. I'm not removing the nest to kill it. I need to keep the nest alive for my survey for parasites (like mites, fungus, etc.). Some nests will be re-housed into nest boxes for use in behaviour assays.

I have many years of experience and use specialized equipment to do this and still get the odd sting, so please don't try to dig an active nest yourself! As you can see from the copious amount of venom on the camera lens, these wasps meant business.

If you would like to contact me about my research, I can be reached at: brownb@landcareresearch.co.nz

See part 2 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YjupRCrCYM

Видео Wasp nest excavation in New Zealand канала Bob Brown