Velutina wasp trap

Design of device realizable by 3D printing for the conversion of plastic bottles into traps to combat Vespa velutina.

Its claw-shaped design allows adaptation to any bottle mouth diameter. Its shape allows velutine wasps to access the inside of the bottle attracted by the odor of the liquid inside, but prevents their exit. At the same time, thanks to its studied dimensions, it allows the exit of other non-invasive insects that may have accidentally entered.

Designed for MediaLab UNIOVI and the Consejería de Medio Rural y Cohesión Territorial del Principado de Asturias (Spain), in collaboration with the Centro de Alerta y Control de Especies Invasoras de La Mata and staff from the Biology Department of the University of Oviedo.

It is recommended to use as an attractant liquid a mixture formed by one liter of warm water, half a tablet of fresh yeast and sugar in large quantity. Fill the bottle with an amount of about 1/5 or 1/10 of its capacity, depending on the size.

Please note that this design is still under development and evaluation, so the results may not be the best and therefore the number of wasp specimens captured may be low. If you have any comments or feedback to improve the product, feel free to send us a message with your suggestions!

Printing with layer heights of 200 microns thick and speeds not exceeding 30 mm/s is recommended.

Suitable material for printing is PLA or PETG.

The use of support material is not necessary.