HYMENOPTERA :: Vespidae :: Vespinae

Vespa Linnaeus, 1758

Vespa affinis (Linnaeus, 1764)

Vespa analis Fabricius, 1775

Vespa bicolor Fabricius, 1787

Vespa ducalis Smith, 1852

Vespa mandarinia Smith, 1852

Vespa soror du Buysson, 1905

Vespa tropica (Linnaeus, 1758)

Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836

Biology

Large predatory eusocial wasps. Colonies with up to 1000 workers, aerial or subterranean. Nests annual or perennial.

Sources

Barthélémy, C. A. Provisional Identification Guide to the Social Vespids of Hong Kong (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Available online: http://insectahk.com

Barthélémy C & Guénard B. 2025. An annotated and illustrated checklist of Hong Kong aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera: Apoid wasps; Pompilioidea; Scolioidea; Thynnoidea; Tiphioidea; Vespoidea; Chrysidoidea). Insecta Mundi 1115: 1–230.

Kumar G.P. & Srinivasan G. 2010. Taxonomic studies of hornet wasps (Hymenoptera : Vespidae) Vespa Linnaeus of India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 110. 57–80. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v110/i2/2010/158949 

Smith-Pardo A.H.,  Carpenter, J. M. & Kimsey L. 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): 2; 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaa006