ASIAN WASP - AN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROBLEM IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF COIMBRA - PORTUGAL

Abstract

Background: With the increase in the urbanization and population mobility, the biodiversity has been greatly affected. Globalization has facilitated the dispersion of many species that become a threat, reaching the status of invasive species with an impact on the ecosystems. The Asian wasp was spotted in 2011 in Portugal. The biological cycle of Asian wasp is anual, although the climatic conditions attend to is development

Aims: observe the growth over the years of sightings of nests, relating the life cycle of this species with the time of the year when it’s more propitious to is incidence, taking into account the impacts on the environment and the health of the population.

Methods: The nature of this study was observational zoological and of retrospective cohort. Data and records were provided by the Portuguese Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests. The data were evaluated: in IBM SPSS Version 25 program.

Results: It was found that in the municipality of Coimbra, 2019 was the year with the highest numbers of observation records, the definitive nests were those that had the most prevalent nests located in the trees while the primary nests were found in housing spaces. The parishes that hád a higher frequency of registrations were Santo António dos Olivais, União de Freguesias de São Martinho do Bispo/ Ribeira de Frades, União de Freguesias de Sé Nova/Santa Cruz/Almedina/São Bartolomeu.

Conclusion(s): This study allowed us to understand which factors are favorable to the appearance of invasive species in Portugal, their reproduction and propagation, as well as the impacts they have on the environment and population, which can lead to the death if a person that has been bitten has an allergic reaction and can destroy hives and feed on bees.

Presenter e-mail: supaixao@estescoimbra.pt