Details
Vespa mandarinia
The Asian giant hornet is a large social wasp with powerful jaws. Workers hunt by day and carry insect prey back to the colony.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in forests and grasslands of the Palearctic, the Indomalayan region. Nests are built in protected cavities such as soil hollows or spaces near tree roots.
Length 2.7-5.5 cm; weight 0.5 g-2.5 g. A large orange head, dark-and-yellow abdomen, and heavy mandibles stand out. Its size gives it a strong, audible flight.
Diurnal and colonial, it lives in nests headed by a queen and workers. Colonies defend nests strongly and may attack other insects in groups at food sources.
A carnivore, workers capture insects to feed larvae. Adults also use tree sap and nutrient fluids produced by larvae.
A queen starts the nest alone in spring, and workers expand it as they emerge. New queens and males are produced in autumn, and mated queens overwinter.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
