HYMENOPTERA :: Vespidae :: Vespinae :: Vespa

Vespa ducalis Smith, 1852

Biology

Prey on Polistinae (Starr 1992), can attack V. bicolor (Lee 2011). Nests subterranean, sometimes aerial, without a complete envelope but with an umbrella like structure above the first comb. The colonies medium size.

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 

Lee J.X.Q. 2011. A record of a group attack and occupation of a vespine wasp nest by the hornet Vespa ducalis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Hong Kong Entomological Bulletin 3(1): 15–19.

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 

Starr C.K. 1992. The Social Wasps of Taiwan. Bulletin of the National Museum of Natural History 3: 93–138.