Resource Database

Origin

The Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, is native to East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, parts of the Russian Far East.

Life Cycle

Fertilized/Mated queens emerge from hibernation and start to search for nesting sites in late April. They nest in the ground. The first nest is built by the queen and is small, only about 40 workers will be produced. A mature nest is completed around early August and will hold around 3000 cells in 4-12 combs. Late summer, the eggs for next year's queens and the first batch of next year's workers are laid and egg laying stops around mid-September and efforts shift to caring for larvae. Last year's queens die sometime between mid to late October and new queens take over responsibilities. Queens are fertilized as they leave the nest in late autumn.

Identification

Asian Giant Hornets are large, and have noticeably large orange heads and black eyes. Orange color can range from light, almost yellow, to dark orange. Worker hornets are approximately 3.5 cm in length and queens can be up to 4-5 cm in length with a wingspan of 4-7 cm;They have brown antenna with a yellow-orange base, brown to black eyes, brown thorax, and black and yellow/orange striped abdomen. Their mouth parts are orange with a black tooth.

Distribution

It has only been detected in Washington state in the US.