The modifications in planting structure and continuous land use adjustments have significant implications for the structure, diversity, and functioning of arthropod communities in farmland landscapes, particularly regarding the biological control of pest insects by natural enemy species. Therefore, there is an urgent need to comprehensively and accurately assess insect community diversity in croplands. In this study conducted between 2022-2023, we utilized Malaise traps and sweep netting to collect insects from three different double-cropping paddy fields. We extracted DNA from preservative ethanol of Malaise traps and tissue samples of selected parasitoid wasps, followed by amplification using DNA barcoding primers to prepare high-throughput sequencing libraries. As a result, we annotated a total of 4956 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 174 genera and 32 families of parasitoid wasps. Our findings demonstrate that the ethanol filter method efficiently captures a wide range of information diversity. However, it demonstrates a lower resolution and may result in a reduction of species abundance. Furthermore, we have identified additional insect species in the parasitoid samples. This demonstrates that high throughput sequencing from adult parasitoid wasps can effectively detect host specie, enabling a comprehensive understanding of host species and providing novel insights into food web construction.

Epidemiology of fatalities in Spain due to hornet, wasp and bee stings (Cause Code of Death: X23) is described. Over a 20-year period (1999-2018), a total of 78 fatalities were recorded, mostly occurring in males (85.9%), of 65 years and older (52.6%), at “unspecified places” (67.9%) and in the months of July and August (50%). The X23 mortality rates (X23MR) expressed in terms of annual rates and per million inhabitants, varied from 0.02 to 0.19 (mean value ± standard deviation = 0.09 ± 0.05), placing Spain at low levels in comparison with other countries. A more detailed and specific breakdown of the distribution of the yearly deaths at Sub-state level and across communities reveals some striking features. They were more concentrated in the Communities of Galicia (35.8%), Andalucía (21.7%) and Castilla y León (12.8%). X23MR were estimated in Galicia at 1.82, 1.10 and 2.22 in 2014, 2016 and 2018 respectively; and in Asturias at 1.88 and 0.97, in 2014 and 2017 respectively. The role of the invasive species Vespa velutina (VV), is examined. Due to its habits, abundance and broader distribution, the risk that VV represents to human health is unmatched by other Hymenoptera native species.

This study aimed to investigate the venom sac extracts (VSE) of the European hornet (EH) Vespa crabro (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), focusing on the differences between stinging females, gynes (G) and workers (W), at the protein level. Using a quantitative “Sequential Window Acquisition of all Theoretical Fragment Ion Mass Spectra” (SWATH-MS) analysis, we identified and quantified a total of 240 proteins. Notably, within the group, 45.8 % (n = 110) showed significant differential expression between VSE-G and VSE-W. In this set, 57.3 % (n = 63) were upregulated and 42.7 % (n = 47) downregulated in the G. Additionally, the 200 quantified proteins from the class Insecta belong to 16 different species, six of them to the Hymenoptera/Apidae lineage, comprising seven proteins with known potential allergenicity. Thus, phospholipase A1 (Vesp v 1), phospholipase A1 verutoxin 2b (VT-2b), hyaluronidase A (Vesp v 2A), hyaluronidase B (Vesp v 2B), and venom allergen 5 (Vesp v 5) were significantly downregulated in the G, and vitellogenin (Vesp v 6) was upregulated. Overall, 46 % of the VSE proteins showed differential expression, with a majority being upregulated in G. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD047955. These findings shed light on the proteomic differences in VSE between EH castes, potentially contributing to our understanding of their behavior and offering insights for allergy research.