Australian Wasp Shown to Pose Serious Danger to Aviation Safety

Over a 39-month period, invasive keyhole wasps, specifically known as the Pachodynerus nasidens at the Brisbane Airport" were reportedly responsible for the 93 cases of "fully blocked replica pitot probes."

These are vital instruments that gauge airspeed. This new finding is included in a study that PLOS ONE open-access journal published on November 25.

The research was authored by Eco Logical Australia's Alan House and colleagues. As these study authors noted, the findings highlight the essentiality of risk-mitigating tactics like covering pitot probes when airplanes arrive and "setting up additional traps to intercept the wasps."

Essentially, a wasp is a destructive, flying, hurtful insect. It has a stinger and membranous forewings and hindwings.

Wasps are typically associated with ants and bees, with all of them considered as Hymenoptera, although they differ from the said insects as they have a stinger, don't have hair, which bees have.

Reports on this finding said, encounters between aircraft and wildlife are common and recurrent. They also have serious consequences in terms of financial and safety aspects.

(Photo : David Hablützel on Pixabay)
Over a 39-month period, invasive keyhole wasps, specifically known as the Pachodynerus nasidens at the Brisbane Airport” were reportedly responsible for the 93 cases of ‘fully blocked replica pitot probes.’

What Keyhole Wasps Do in Pitot Probes

Despite the common occurrence, the risk postured by wildlife when aircraft are on the ground is much less understood, and particular threats insects posed have not been previously quantified.

In the new research, Hose, together with his colleagues, closely examined the probable role of keyhole wasps in blocking pitot probes at Brisbane Airport.

Previously, 26 wasp-related issues in all were reported at the airport from November 2013 to April 2019, in connection to the serious of serious safety occurrences that involved pitot probes.

In its native variety in South and Central America and the Caribbean, the wasp is popularly known to building nests through the use of man-made cavities like window crevices, power outlets, and keyholes.

In their study, researchers used 3-D-printing technology to build a series of replica pitot probes, which they installed in four areas at the airport.

Peak Nesting

All nests in the said probes were reportedly made by keyhole wasps, and peak nesting took place during the summer months.

Nesting success, which means the proportion of nest-producing live adults, was said to be optimal from 24 to 31 degrees-Celsius, and probes that have openings of more than three millimeters in diameter have opted.

Moreover, most of the nests were built in one location of the airport. The part of grassed areas within the 1000 meters of probes was a substantial predictor of nesting, and the volume of nest in pitot probes may identify the emerging wasps' sex.

In connection to this, the study investigators said, P. nasidens poses a considerable risk to the safety of aviation, and further work is essential to come up with effective strategies for controlling or eliminating the persistent populace of this adaptable, inventive, and extremely mobile species.

Researchers also said they are hoping their study would bring attention to a slightly-known yet serious problem for air travel in both the tropical and sub-tropical regions.

Finally, as indicated in the study, having discovered its way across the Pacific Ocean, there is no reason for any doubt that it could spread in other parts of Australia.

The consequences of having this clever yet hazardous pest managed could definitely be substantial, the study investigators said.

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