Oriental hornet
| Oriental hornet | |
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| Vespa orientalis pollinating Drimia maritima | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Vespidae |
| Genus: | Vespa |
| Species: | V. orientalis |
| Binomial name | |
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Vespa orientalis Linnaeus, 1771 |
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| Subspecies | |
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| Distribution of Vespa orientalis | |
The Oriental hornet, Vespa orientalis, is a social insect of the Vespidae family. It can be found in Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa, the island of Madagascar, Israel and parts of Southern Europe. Oriental hornets have also been found in a few isolated locations such as Mexico due to human introduction. The Oriental hornet lives in seasonal colonies consisting of caste system dominated by a queen. The hornet builds its nests underground and communicates using sound vibrations. The hornet has a yellow stripe on its cuticle (exoskeleton) which can absorb sunlight to generate a small electrical potential, and it has been suggested that this might help supply energy for digging. The adult hornet eats nectar and fruits and scavenges for insects and animal proteins to feed to their young. Because they are scavengers, the hornets may also serve as a transmitter of disease following consumption of infected plants. The hornets are a primary pest to honey bees, attacking bee colonies to obtain honey and animal proteins. The sting of an Oriental hornet can be quite painful to humans and some humans are allergic to stings.
The Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) belongs to the Vespidae family which consists of wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets. It is a member of genus Vespa which constitutes true hornets.Vespa orientalis has unique adaptations to arid climates which disguises its phylogenic relationship to other species of the Vespa genus, making it difficult to map based on morphological data alone. Thus the use of molecular data was crucial to correctly mapping its phylogenetic relationships. Based on molecular phylogenetics V. orientalis is most closely related to Vespa affinis and Vespa mocsaryana.
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