10.15470/jl2i4v Non-target fauna reported through VespApp Cayetano Herrera Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma 07122 ES

cayetanoherreralopez@gmail.es 0000-0001-8302-8786 Carlos Guerrero Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma 07122 ES

0000-0003-2969-0597 Joan Amengual Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma 07122 ES

0009-0005-6023-7522 Gabriel Arbona Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma 07122 ES

0009-0004-9181-5746 Mar Leza Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma 07122 ES

0000-0002-0134-0221 Cayetano Herrera Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma 07122 ES

0000-0001-8302-8786 2026-07-06 eng The citizen science platform VespApp was launched in May 2016 (the year after the initial detection of the yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina in the Balearic Islands, Spain) to support monitoring during the early stages of the invasion. VespApp integrated multiple communication channels from the beginning, combining both a website (http://vespapp.uib.es/) and a free Android application.VespApp remained active for over eight years (from May 23th, 2016, to December 9th, 2024), and users submitted photographs of both suspicious individual insects and nests, which were subsequently validated or discarded by taxonomic experts to ensure data reliability. Insects were identified based on morphological features, and nest validation was confirmed by the presence of individuals in the images; when the nest was isolated, additional images were requested from the user to ensure taxonomic identification. To ensure nomenclatural accuracy, we standardized the taxonomy using the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) as the primary reference database to verify accepted names, ensuring that all records aligned with current international taxonomic standards. In total, we obtained 571 records from non-target insects (not classified as Vespa velutina). V. velutina records will be integrated into GBIF separately in a paper including unpublished records of invasive alien species of Union concern across Europe and neighboring countries. Non-target fauna; invasive species misidentification citizen science GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml Non-target fauna; invasive species misidentification citizen science GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License. Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-NC-4.0.html CC-BY-NC-4.0 Countries: Spain (568 occurrences), Chile (1), Portugal (1), and Francia (1). -72.35018 5.90219 48.046931 -37.499104 2016-05-23 2024-07-25 family Asilidae family Halictidae family Sphecidae phylum Arthropoda family Scoliidae family Pentatomidae class Insecta order Diptera family Stratiomyidae family Eumenidae family Notodontidae family Syrphidae family Sphingidae family Gryllotalpidae order Hymenoptera family Megachilidae family Culicidae order Hemiptera family Crabronidae order Orthoptera family Vespidae order Lepidoptera family Apidae kingdom Animalia This dataset aimed to evaluate the long-term efficiency of VespApp in monitoring the invasive hornet Vespa velutina by analysing reporting dynamics and taxonomic identification patterns in citizen-submitted records. The citizen science platform VespApp was launched in May 2016 (the year after the initial detection of Vespa velutina) to support monitoring tasks during the early stage of invasion in the Balearic Islands. VespApp integrated multiple communication channels from the beginning, combining both a website (http://vespapp.uib.es/) and a free Android application (to the best of our understanding, the first mobile-based app for V. velutina monitoring in Europe). Cayetano Herrera benefited from a FPI grant (FPI_014_2020) from the Conselleria d'Educació, Universitat i Recerca del Govern de les Illes Balears and a postdoctoral grant Margalida Comas (POSTDOC2024_4) from the Conselleria d’Educació i Universitats del Govern de les Illes Balears i pel Fons Social Europeu +. Gabriel Arbona was funded by the MEPRO 14238/2030 from the Conselleria de Agricultura, Pesca i Medi Natural del Govern de les Illes Balears. Joan Amengual, Mar Leza and this study received support from Grant PID2023-149487OA-I00 funded by Agencia Estatal de Investigación (MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). We received funds from Conselleria d'Innovació, Recerca i Turisme del Govern de les Illes Balears (AAEE47/2015), Habitissimo, and Cátedra Santander-UIB. This work has been co-financed by FEDER, "Una manera de hacer Europa". asNeeded Cayetano Herrera Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma 07122 ES

cayetanoherreralopez@gmail.es 0000-0001-8302-8786 Cayetano Herrera 0000-0001-8302-8786 contentProvider Conselleria d'Educació, Universitat i Recerca del Govern de les Illes Balears POSTDOC2024_4 Conselleria de Agricultura, Pesca i Medi Natural del Govern de les Illes Balears MEPRO 14238/2030 Agencia Estatal de Investigación (MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) PID2023-149487OA-I00 Conselleria d'Innovació, Recerca i Turisme del Govern de les Illes Balears AAEE47/2015 Habitissimo Cátedra Santander-UIB 2026-07-06T10:51:37.641+02:00 dataset Herrera C, Guerrero C, Amengual J, Arbona G, Leza M (2026). Non-target fauna reported through VespApp: a citizen science app to control the yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) in Spain. Version 2.1. Universitat de les Illes Balears. Occurrence dataset. https://doi.org/10.15470/jl2i4v https://ipt.gbif.es/resource?id=uib-vespapp/v2.1.xml