Asian giant hornet

Not to be confused with Asian hornet.

Asian giant hornet
Temporal range: Miocene–present, 15.97–0 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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 Cameron, 1903
  • Vespa mandarina Dalla Torre, 1894 (misspelling)
  • Vespa mandarinia nobilis Sonan, 1929
  • Vespa magnifica sonani Matsumura, 1930

The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) or northern giant hornet,[2][3] including the color form referred to as the Japanese giant hornet,[4][5] 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[6][7] with a few more additional sightings in 2020,[8][9] and nests found in 2021,[10][11] prompting concern that it could become an invasive species.[12][Ala 1] However, by the end of the season in November 2022, there were no confirmed sightings in North America at all,[13] suggesting they may have been eradicated in that region.[14]

Asian giant hornets 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 rotten pine roots.[15][Arc 1] It feeds primarily on larger insects, colonies of other eusocial insects, tree sap, and honey from honey bee colonies.[16] The hornet has a body length of 45 mm (1+3⁄4 in), a wingspan around 75 mm (3 in), and a stinger 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long, which injects a large amount of potent venom.[17]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smith 1852 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ESA-NGH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Giant hornet gets new name". agr.wa.gov. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  4. ^ Smith-Pardo, Allan H; Carpenter, James M.; Kimsey, Lynn; Hines, Heather (May 2020). "The diversity of hornets in the genus Vespa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Vespinae), their importance and interceptions in the United States". Insect Systematics and Diversity. 4 (3). doi:10.1093/isd/ixaa006.
  5. ^ Piper, Ross (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 9–11. ISBN 978-0-313-33922-6.
  6. ^ BC Gov News: Asian Giant Hornet nest eradicated in Nanaimo.
  7. ^ USDA New Pest Response Guidelines: Vespa mandarinia Asian giant hornet.
  8. ^ "Hornets". Washington State Department of Agriculture.
  9. ^ "WSDA News Releases". Washington State Department of Agriculture.
  10. ^ "Washington state has first live 'murder hornet' sighting of 2021". NBC News. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  11. ^ "3rd murder hornet nest of 2021 found in northwest Washington". 11 September 2021.
  12. ^ Zhu, Gengping; Gutierrez Illan, Javier; Looney, Chris; Crowder, David W. (2020). "Assessing the ecological niche and invasion potential of the Asian giant hornet". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (40): 24646–24648. Bibcode:2020PNAS..11724646Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.2011441117. PMC 7547231. PMID 32963093.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference nothing-2022-KOMO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Murder Hornets Appear to Have Been Driven Out of the U.S. - Newsweek 10/17/22
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yamane-1976 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Campbell, Dana (11 November 2014). "Vespa mandarinia". Encyclopedia of Life. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  17. ^ Handwerk, Brian (25 October 2002). ""Hornets From Hell" Offer Real-Life Fright". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010.


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