Yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina)

Yellow-legged horne (Vespa velutina) is a species of insect belonging to the Vespidae family. Queens typically have a wing length of 14–19 mm and a body length of 30 mm, while males measure 24 mm and workers 20 mm. The thorax is velvety brown or black, and the abdomen is brown, with each segment featuring a thin yellow border along its posterior edge—except for the fourth segment, which is orange.

V. velutina has a black head with a yellow face. Females possess a stinger, which they use to defend the nest and immobilize prey. Their nests are large and oval-shaped, reaching up to 50 cm in length. Colonies typically begin by building a nest in low-lying shrubs, but after a few months, they relocate to construct a new nest high up in trees.



TAXON

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Infraorder: Aculeata
Superfamily: Vespoidea
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Vespinae
Genus: Vespa Linnaeus (1758)
Species: Vespa velutina Lepeletier (1836)

SYNONYMS

Vespa auraria Smith (1852)
Vespa fruhstorferi Stadelmann (1894)
Vespa immaculata Morawitz (1889)

VERNACULAR NAME

Catalan: Vespa asiàtica
Chinese (simplified): 墨胸胡蜂 - 黄脚胡蜂 - 黑胸胡蜂
Chinese (traditional): 黃腳胡蜂 - 黃腳胡蜂 黃腳虎頭蜂 - 黃腳虎頭蜂
Czech: Sršeň asijská
Danish: Asiatisk gedehams
Dutch: Aziatische hoornaar, Geelpoothoornaar
English: Asian hornet, Yellow-legged hornet, Asian predatory wasp
Finnish: Aasianherhiläinen
French: Frelon à pattes jaunes, Frelon asiatique
Galician: Avespa asiática
German: Asiatische Hornisse
Greek: Ασιατική σφήκα
Guangdong: 黃腳胡蜂 黃腳虎頭蜂 - 黃腳胡蜂
Hong Kong: 黃腳胡蜂 黃腳虎頭蜂 - 黃腳胡蜂
Hungarian: Ázsiai lódarázs
Indonesian: Tawon endas kaki kuning, Tawon endas kuning
Italian: Calabrone asiatico
Japanese: ツマアカスズメバチ - 褄赤雀蜂
Java: Tawon ndas kuning
Korean: 등검은말벌
Luxembourgish: Asiatesch Runn
Macao: 黃腳胡蜂 黃腳虎頭蜂 - 黃腳胡蜂
Polish: Szerszeń czarny
Portuguese: Vespa asiática
Romanian: Viespe asiatică
Russian: Азиатский шершень
Spanish: Avispa Asiática, Avispón asiático
Swedish: Sammetsgeting
Taiwan: 黃腳胡蜂 - 黃腳虎頭蜂
Thai: ต่อหัวเสือขาเหลือง

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium