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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Genus: Vespa
Species: V. mandarinia
Binomial name
Vespa mandarinia
Smith, 1852[1]
Synonyms
Vespa magnifica Smith,
1852
Vespa
japonica Radoszkowski, 1857
Vespa bellona Smith,
1871
Vespa
magnifica var. latilineata C
ameron, 1903
Vespa mandarina Dalla
Torre, 1894 (misspelling)
Vespa mandarinia
nobilis Sonan, 1929
Vespa magnifica
sonani Matsumura, 1930
The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), including the color form referred to as the
"Japanese giant hornet",[2][3] is the world's largest hornet. It is native to temperate and
tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and parts of the Russian Far East. It
was also found in the Pacific Northwest of North America in late 2019,[4] with three additional
sightings in 2020.[5][6] They prefer to live in low mountains and forests, while almost completely
avoiding plains and high-altitude climates. V. mandarinia creates nests by digging, co-opting pre-
existing tunnels dug by rodents, or occupying spaces near rotted pine roots.[7] It feeds primarily
on larger insects, colonies of other eusocial insects, tree sap, and honey from honey bee
colonies.[8] The hornet has a body length of 45 mm (1.8 in), a wingspan around 75 mm (3.0 in),
and a stinger 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long, which injects a large amount of potent venom.[9]
The Asian giant hornet is often confused with the yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina), also
known as the Asian hornet, an invasive species of major concern across Europe, including the
UK.
Contents
Description[edit]
Head detail
Regardless of sex, the hornet's head is a light shade of orange and its antennae are brown with
a yellow-orange base. Its eyes and ocelli are dark brown to black. V. mandarinia is distinguished
from other hornets by its pronounced clypeus and large genae. Its orange mandible contains a
black tooth that it uses for digging.[14] The thorax is dark brown, with two grey wings varying in
span from 3.5 to 7.5 cm. Its forelegs are brighter than the mid and hind legs. The base of the
forelegs is darker than the rest. The abdomen alternates between bands of dark brown or black,
and a yellow-orange hue (consistent with its head color). The sixth segment is yellow. Its stinger
is typically 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long and contains a potent venom that, in cases of multiple hornets
stinging simultaneously, can kill a human.[14]
As the colony size grows, new combs are added, and an envelope is built around the cell layers
until the nest is entirely covered, with the exception of an entry hole. To be able to build cells in
total darkness, they apparently use gravity to aid them. At the peak of its population, which
occurs in late summer, the colony can reach a size of 700 workers.
At this time, the queen starts producing the first reproductive individuals. Fertilized eggs develop
into females (called "gynes" by entomologists), and unfertilized ones develop into males
(sometimes called "drones"). Adult males do not participate in nest maintenance, foraging, or
caretaking of the larvae. In early to mid autumn, they leave the nest and mate during "nuptial
flights."
Other temperate species (e.g., the yellow hornet, V. simillima, or the Oriental hornet, V.
orientalis) have similar cycles. In the case of tropical species (e.g., V. tropica), life histories may
well differ, and in species with both tropical and temperate distributions (such as the Asian giant
hornet, Vespa mandarinia), the cycle likely depends on latitude.
Gadgets are very important and enhance the performance and add additional features to a product
Wasp
Temporal range: Jurassic–
Present
PreЄ
Pg
N
A social wasp, Vespula germanica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Superorder: Hymenopterida
Order: Hymenoptera
Groups included
Most of
suborder Apocrita
Cladistically included but
traditionally excluded taxa
clade Anthophila (bees
)
family Formicidae (ant
s)
A wasp is any narrow-waisted insect of the order of ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies
(Hymenoptera) that is neither a bee nor an ant; some of them can sting their insect prey. The
wasp-waisted insects are a complete natural group with a single ancestor; wasps are not such a
group, as they do not include the bees and the ants.
The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the
family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-
reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex
determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other.
However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding
independently. Females typically have an ovipositor for laying eggs in or near a food source for
the larvae, though in the Aculeata the ovipositor is often modified instead into a sting used for
defense or prey capture. Wasps play many ecological roles. Some are predators or pollinators,
whether to feed themselves or to provision their nests. Many, notably the cuckoo wasps,
are kleptoparasites, laying eggs in the nests of other wasps. Many of the solitary wasps
are parasitoidal, meaning they lay eggs on or in other insects (any life stage from egg to adult)
and often provision their own nests with such hosts. Unlike true parasites, the wasp larvae
eventually kill their hosts. Solitary wasps parasitize almost every pest insect, making wasps
valuable in horticulture for biological pest control of species such as whitefly in tomatoes and
other crops.
Wasps first appeared in the fossil record in the Jurassic, and diversified into many surviving
superfamilies by the Cretaceous. They are a successful and diverse group of insects with tens of
thousands of described species; wasps have spread to all parts of the world except for the polar
regions. The largest social wasp is the Asian giant hornet, at up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in
length; among the largest solitary wasps is a group of species known as tarantula hawks, along
with the giant scoliid of Indonesia (Megascolia procer). The smallest wasps are solitary chalcid
wasps in the family Mymaridae, including the world's smallest known insect, with a body length of
only 0.139 mm (0.0055 in), and the smallest known flying insect, only 0.15 mm (0.0059 in) long.
The "Winsome Wasp" depicted by John Buscema as a 1960s glamor girl
Janet van Dyne was born in Cresskill, New Jersey, the socialite daughter of wealthy scientist
Vernon van Dyne. When her father is killed by an alien entity unleashed during one of his
experiments, Janet turns to his associate Dr. Hank Pym for aid and convinces him to help her. In
order to avenge her father's death, she undergoes a biochemical procedure that grants her the
ability to grow wings upon shrinking under four feet tall and uses a supply of "Pym particles" by
which to change her size. Together, she and Ant-Man defeat the alien and avenge her father.
Janet decides to remain as Wasp and be Hank's partner as she has fallen in love with him,
though Hank initially rejects her feelings due to the similarities between her and his first wife that
had been murdered.[6]
During her time as Hank's partner, she took part in numerous conflicts with villains who included
the Porcupine, Egghead, and Whirlwind (then known as the Human Top). Though initially without
any offensive powers, Janet proves to be resourceful, using her ability to communicate with
insects to fight, as well as using a pin to poke people as means of a weapon. Later, she uses a
miniature air gun, the original wasp's sting.[7]
After the initial confrontation with Loki that brought together the founding Avengers, it is Janet
and Hank who propose forming a team of superheroes. Janet suggests the name for the team
and becomes a founding member.[8] Never lacking confidence or bravery and by nature an
outgoing personality, Janet is always in the thick of battles with villains, who include Norse gods
and aliens, despite being the most underpowered member of the team. Janet frequently
comments on the attractiveness of her male colleagues, especially Thor, in order to provoke
jealousy from Hank and get him to commit to a relationship. Early on in her Avengers career, she
is seriously wounded by a stray bullet in battle against Count Nefaria, and nearly dies from a
collapsed lung.[9] She leaves the team several issues later.[10] When she returns in Avengers vol. 1
#26, her shrinking powers have progressed to the point where she no longer needs Pym particle
capsules to change her size.