These nests are sometimes abandoned at an

early stage. On the one hand this may be caused by an accident or illness of the nest-founding queen. On the other hand, however, this may be caused by the increasingly higher temperatures in the course of the early breeding season. Temperatures at these locations may become as high as 45.8 °C when the this website sun shines on the tiles on warm days (our own unpublished observations). This is in the range of the wasps’ suggested upper thermal limit ( Käfer et al., 2011). Although wasps are known to cool their nests with water spread on the combs ( Klingner et al., 2005, Kovac et al., 2009 and Steiner, 1930), these nest temperatures may be higher than single insects or small colonies can survive. In this context the wasps’ critical thermal maximum (CTmax) is of special interest. Some vespine wasps are known to be more susceptible to high temperatures than honeybees ( Ono et al., 1987 and Ono et al., 1995). This allows honeybees to kill wasps by heat-balling

( Ono et al., 1987, Papachristoforou et al., 2007, Stabentheiner, 1996 and Tan et al., 2005). Stabentheiner (1996) and Stabentheiner et al. (2007) investigated this aggressive interaction between Apis mellifera carnica and Vespula sp. However, while the upper lethal temperature has been determined in Vespa mandarinia japonica (44–46 °C, selleck Ono et al., 1995), Vespa velutina (45.7 °C, Tan et al., 2005), and Vespa orientalis (50.6 °C, Papachristoforou et al., 2011) the upper thermal limit of Vespula has not yet been investigated. Because it is thought to be more relevant to natural conditions we choose the temperature ramping procedure ( Terblanche et al., 2011). We applied behavioral observations ( Klok et al., 2004) and thermolimit

respirometry ( Lighton and Turner, 2004) to determine the wasps’ upper critical thermal maximum (activity and respiratory CTmax). Experiments took place in late summer and autumn 2008 (September, October, November) and 2009 (October), and in summer 2010 (August). Foraging yellowjackets (V. vulgaris (Linnaeus 1758) and V. germanica (Fabricius 1793) – subsequently referred to as Vespula sp.) were caught at an artificial D-malate dehydrogenase feeding station provided with sucrose solution. Animals were collected for immediate analysis. In some cases (8 of 35 wasps) they were stored in cages overnight in a dark and cool area (12–15 °C, food provided) for use on the following day. Individuals were weighed before and after the experiments. Individuals were put into a flow-through respirometer measurement chamber made of brass and immersed into an electronically controlled water bath (Julabo F33 HT) regulated within ±0.1 °C of the set temperature. The chamber volume was 18 ml (3 × 3 × 2 cm). This allowed unrestricted movement of the wasps at a high measurement sensitivity. Because of the wasps’ long stay in the chamber (typically overnight, >6 h) they were also provided with a food source (1.