Queens and workers[edit]

The queens are considerably larger than workers. Queens can exceed 50 mm (2.0 in), while
workers are between 35 and 40 mm (1.4 and 1.6 in). The reproductive anatomy is consistent
between the two, but workers do not reproduce. [14]

Drones[edit]
Drones (males) are similar to females, but lack stingers. This is a consistent feature among
the Hymenoptera.[14]

Geographic distribution[edit]

The Asian giant hornet

The hornet can be found in the Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsky Krai (southern part only)

and Jewish AO regions of Russia, Korea (where it is called 장수말벌 "general
officer hornet"), China, Taiwan (simplified Chinese: 大虎头蜂; traditional Chinese: 大虎頭蜂; lit.:
'giant tiger head bee'), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal, India and Sri
Lanka, and common in Japan, where it prefers rural areas where it can find trees to nest in [3] and
is known as the ōsuzumebachi (オオスズメバチ(大雀蜂), literally, "giant sparrow bee"). At least
by 2008, some popular media outlets in Japan also referred to this wasp as satsujin
suzumebachi (殺人スズメバチ, literally, "murder hornet")[15], a name that was passed along in
2020 to a New York Times reporter.[16]
The hornet has been found five times in the Vancouver area: in September 2019, in Nanaimo,
British Columbia;[17][18] in December 2019, in Blaine, Washington, on the U.S. side of the border
adjacent to Vancouver Island; [5] two specimens collected in May 2020, one from Langley, British
Columbia, about 8 miles north of Blaine, and one from Custer, Washington, 9 miles southeast of
Blaine, and one sighting in June 2020 from Bellingham, WA, 15 miles S of Custer[5]. Laboratory
findings determined that the specimens collected in 2019 from British Columbia and Washington
were from different colonies, suggesting that two simultaneous introductions of the Asian giant
hornet occurred in North America within about 50 miles (80 km) of one another.[16]
In April 2020, authorities in Washington asked members of the public to be alert and report any
sightings of these wasps, which are expected to become active in April if they are in the area. [19] If
they become established, it is claimed that the hornets "could decimate bee populations in the
United States and establish such a deep presence that all hope for eradication could be lost." A
"full-scale hunt" for the species by the Washington State Department of Agriculture is underway.
[16]

Reports of this species from other parts of the world appear to be erroneous identifications of
other hornet species, such as V. orientalis and V. velutina in Europe.[20]

Asian giant hornet

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Asian giant hornet

Vespa mandarinia form "magnifica".

Private collection, F. Turetta.

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Vespidae

Genus: Vespa

Species: V. mandarinia

Binomial name

Vespa mandarinia

Smith, 1852[1]
 Synonyms

 Vespa magnifica Smith,
1852

 Vespa
japonica Radoszkowski, 1857
 Vespa bellona Smith,
1871

 Vespa
magnifica var. latilineata C
ameron, 1903

 Vespa mandarina Dalla
Torre, 1894 (misspelling)

 Vespa mandarinia
nobilis Sonan, 1929
 Vespa magnifica
sonani Matsumura, 1930

The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), including the color form referred to as the
"Japanese giant hornet",[2][3] is the world's largest hornet. It is native to temperate and
tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and parts of the Russian Far East. It
was also found in the Pacific Northwest of North America in late 2019,[4] with three additional
sightings in 2020.[5][6] They prefer to live in low mountains and forests, while almost completely
avoiding plains and high-altitude climates. V. mandarinia creates nests by digging, co-opting pre-
existing tunnels dug by rodents, or occupying spaces near rotted pine roots. [7] It feeds primarily
on larger insects, colonies of other eusocial insects, tree sap, and honey from honey bee
colonies.[8] The hornet has a body length of 45 mm (1.8 in), a wingspan around 75 mm (3.0 in),
and a stinger 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long, which injects a large amount of potent venom. [9]
The Asian giant hornet is often confused with the yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina), also
known as the Asian hornet, an invasive species of major concern across Europe, including the
UK.

Contents

 1Taxonomy and phylogeny

 2Description
o 2.1Queens and workers
o 2.2Drones
 3Geographic distribution
 4Nesting
 5Colony cycle
o 5.1Prenesting period
o 5.2Solitary, cooperative and polyethic periods
o 5.3Dissolution and hibernating period
 6Sting
 o 6.1Effects on humans
 7Parasites
 8Communication and perception
 9Scent marking
 10Interspecies dominance
 11Predation
o 11.1Native honey bees
 12Extermination methods
o 12.1Beating
o 12.2Nest removal
o 12.3Bait traps
o 12.4Mass poisoning
o 12.5Trapping at hive entrances
o 12.6Protective screens
 13Human consumption
 14References
 15External links
Hornets (insects in the genus Vespa) are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in
appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in)
in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by the relatively large top margin of
the head and by the rounded segment of the abdomen just behind the waist. Worldwide, there
are 22 recognized species of Vespa.[2][3] Most species only occur in the tropics of Asia, though
the European hornet (Vespa crabro), is widely distributed throughout Europe, Russia, North
America and Northeast Asia. Wasps native to North America in the genus Dolichovespula are
commonly referred to as hornets (e.g., baldfaced hornets), but are actually yellowjackets.
Like other social wasps, hornets build communal nests by chewing wood to make a papery pulp.
Each nest has one queen, who lays eggs and is attended by workers who, while genetically
female, cannot lay fertile eggs. Most species make exposed nests in trees and shrubs, but some
(like Vespa orientalis) build their nests underground or in other cavities. In the tropics, these
nests may last year-round, but in temperate areas, the nest dies over the winter, with lone
queens hibernating in leaf litter or other insulative material until the spring. Male hornets are
docile and do not have stingers.
Hornets are often considered pests, as they aggressively guard their nesting sites when
threatened and their stings can be more dangerous than those of bees.[4]
In Vespa crabro, the nest is founded in spring by a fertilized female known as the queen. She
generally selects sheltered places such as dark, hollow tree trunks. She first builds a series of
cells (up to 50) out of chewed tree bark. The cells are arranged in horizontal layers named
combs, each cell being vertical and closed at the top. An egg is then laid in each cell. After 5–8
days the egg hatches. Over the following two weeks, the larva progresses through five stages of
development. During this time, the queen feeds it a protein-rich diet of insects. Then, the larva
spins a silk cap over the cell's opening and, during the next two weeks, transforms into an adult,
a process called metamorphosis. The adult then eats its way through the silk cap. This first
generation of workers, invariably females, now gradually undertakes all the tasks formerly carried
out by the queen (foraging, nest building, taking care of the brood, etc.) with the exception
of egg-laying, which remains exclusive to the queen.

Taxonomy and phylogeny[edit]

V. mandarinia is a species in the genus Vespa, which comprises all true hornets. Along with
seven other species, V. mandarinia is a part of the V. tropica species group, defined by the single
notch located on the apical margin of the seventh gastral sternum of the male. The most closely
related species within the species group is V. soror. The triangular shape of the apical margin of
the clypeus of the female is diagnostic, the vertex of both species is enlarged, and the shape of
the apex of the aedeagus is distinct and similar.[10] Division of the genus into subgenera has been
attempted in the past,[11] but has been abandoned, due to the anatomical similarity among
species and because behavioural similarity is not associated with phylogeny. [7]
As of 2012, three subspecies were recognized: [12] V. m. mandarinia, V. m. magnifica, and V. m.
nobilis. The former subspecies referred to as V. m. japonica has not been considered valid since
1997.[13] The most recent revision in 2020 has eliminated all of the subspecies rankings entirely,
with "japonica", "magnifica", and "nobilis" now relegated to informal nontaxonomic names for
different color forms.[2]

Description[edit]

Head detail

Regardless of sex, the hornet's head is a light shade of orange and its antennae are brown with
a yellow-orange base. Its eyes and ocelli are dark brown to black. V. mandarinia is distinguished
from other hornets by its pronounced clypeus and large genae. Its orange mandible contains a
black tooth that it uses for digging.[14] The thorax is dark brown, with two grey wings varying in
span from 3.5 to 7.5 cm. Its forelegs are brighter than the mid and hind legs. The base of the
forelegs is darker than the rest. The abdomen alternates between bands of dark brown or black,
and a yellow-orange hue (consistent with its head color). The sixth segment is yellow. Its stinger
is typically 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long and contains a potent venom that, in cases of multiple hornets
stinging simultaneously, can kill a human. [14]

Life history of Vespa crabro

As the colony size grows, new combs are added, and an envelope is built around the cell layers
until the nest is entirely covered, with the exception of an entry hole. To be able to build cells in
total darkness, they apparently use gravity to aid them. At the peak of its population, which
occurs in late summer, the colony can reach a size of 700 workers.
At this time, the queen starts producing the first reproductive individuals. Fertilized eggs develop
into females (called "gynes" by entomologists), and unfertilized ones develop into males
(sometimes called "drones"). Adult males do not participate in nest maintenance, foraging, or
caretaking of the larvae. In early to mid autumn, they leave the nest and mate during "nuptial
flights."
Other temperate species (e.g., the yellow hornet, V. simillima, or the Oriental hornet, V.
orientalis) have similar cycles. In the case of tropical species (e.g., V. tropica), life histories may
well differ, and in species with both tropical and temperate distributions (such as the Asian giant
hornet, Vespa mandarinia), the cycle likely depends on latitude.
Gadgets are very important and enhance the performance and add additional features to a product

For other uses, see Wasp (disambiguation).

Wasp

Temporal range: Jurassic–

Present 

PreЄ

Pg

N
A social wasp, Vespula germanica

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Superorder: Hymenopterida

Order: Hymenoptera

Groups included

 Most of
suborder Apocrita

Cladistically included but
traditionally excluded taxa

 clade Anthophila (bees
)
 family Formicidae (ant
s)
A wasp is any narrow-waisted insect of the order of ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies
(Hymenoptera) that is neither a bee nor an ant; some of them can sting their insect prey. The
wasp-waisted insects are a complete natural group with a single ancestor; wasps are not such a
group, as they do not include the bees and the ants.
The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the
family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-
reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex
determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other.
However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding
independently. Females typically have an ovipositor for laying eggs in or near a food source for
the larvae, though in the Aculeata the ovipositor is often modified instead into a sting used for
defense or prey capture. Wasps play many ecological roles. Some are predators or pollinators,
whether to feed themselves or to provision their nests. Many, notably the cuckoo wasps,
are kleptoparasites, laying eggs in the nests of other wasps. Many of the solitary wasps
are parasitoidal, meaning they lay eggs on or in other insects (any life stage from egg to adult)
and often provision their own nests with such hosts. Unlike true parasites, the wasp larvae
eventually kill their hosts. Solitary wasps parasitize almost every pest insect, making wasps
valuable in horticulture for biological pest control of species such as whitefly in tomatoes and
other crops.
Wasps first appeared in the fossil record in the Jurassic, and diversified into many surviving
superfamilies by the Cretaceous. They are a successful and diverse group of insects with tens of
thousands of described species; wasps have spread to all parts of the world except for the polar
regions. The largest social wasp is the Asian giant hornet, at up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in
length; among the largest solitary wasps is a group of species known as tarantula hawks, along
with the giant scoliid of Indonesia (Megascolia procer). The smallest wasps are solitary chalcid
wasps in the family Mymaridae, including the world's smallest known insect, with a body length of
only 0.139 mm (0.0055 in), and the smallest known flying insect, only 0.15 mm (0.0059 in) long.
The "Winsome Wasp" depicted by John Buscema as a 1960s glamor girl

Janet van Dyne was born in Cresskill, New Jersey, the socialite daughter of wealthy scientist
Vernon van Dyne. When her father is killed by an alien entity unleashed during one of his
experiments, Janet turns to his associate Dr. Hank Pym for aid and convinces him to help her. In
order to avenge her father's death, she undergoes a biochemical procedure that grants her the
ability to grow wings upon shrinking under four feet tall and uses a supply of "Pym particles" by
which to change her size. Together, she and Ant-Man defeat the alien and avenge her father.
Janet decides to remain as Wasp and be Hank's partner as she has fallen in love with him,
though Hank initially rejects her feelings due to the similarities between her and his first wife that
had been murdered.[6]
During her time as Hank's partner, she took part in numerous conflicts with villains who included
the Porcupine, Egghead, and Whirlwind (then known as the Human Top). Though initially without
any offensive powers, Janet proves to be resourceful, using her ability to communicate with
insects to fight, as well as using a pin to poke people as means of a weapon. Later, she uses a
miniature air gun, the original wasp's sting.[7]
After the initial confrontation with Loki that brought together the founding Avengers, it is Janet
and Hank who propose forming a team of superheroes. Janet suggests the name for the team
and becomes a founding member.[8] Never lacking confidence or bravery and by nature an
outgoing personality, Janet is always in the thick of battles with villains, who include Norse gods
and aliens, despite being the most underpowered member of the team. Janet frequently
comments on the attractiveness of her male colleagues, especially Thor, in order to provoke
jealousy from Hank and get him to commit to a relationship. Early on in her Avengers career, she
is seriously wounded by a stray bullet in battle against Count Nefaria, and nearly dies from a
collapsed lung.[9] She leaves the team several issues later. [10] When she returns in Avengers vol. 1
#26, her shrinking powers have progressed to the point where she no longer needs Pym particle
capsules to change her size.