Christmas Trees Bring Wasps to Hawaii

Hawaiian natives may not be saying, “mele kalikimaka” this holiday season. Last week, a large Christmas tree shipment was found to contain a significant infestation of predatory wasps, reported USA Today. The trees are currently under quarantine in Hawaii's Department of Agriculture plant quarantine facility.

The predatory wasp species, whose scientific name is Vespula Germanica, or the German yellow jacket, is considered a threat because it lives at lower elevations than the native yellow jacket. According to etymologists quoted by USA Today, the Vespula Germanica would compete for space and weasel out Hawaii’s indigenous yellow jacket. The effects could be devastating as the yellow jacket is food for larger birds, and entire ecosystems could be thrown off balance.

As retailers worry the more than 1,200 Christmas trees shipped from the Pacific Northwest will affect the cost and availability of trees for the rest of the holiday season, buyers wonder if they might get stung by both decreasing demand, higher prices, and the actual wasps themselves.

The island's invasive species police, however, have larger issues in mind: How to protect biodiversity. Hawaii is home to more endangered species -- thanks to the uniqueness of the plants and creatures that had evolved in geographic isolation for millions of years -- than any other U.S. state. Seemingly simple visitors, like this wasp, are one important reason why.

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