Vespa Mandarinia Japonica Queen. Asian giant hornets—vespa mandarinia japonica—have unexpectedly emerged at a few sites in the pacific northwest. Mandarinia is a species in the genus vespa, which comprises all true hornets.
Vespa mandarinia also is a major pest of apiaries in japan. Within the united states, the first known account of detection of a vespa mandarinia hornet was in washington in fall 2019 (mcgann 2019). Mandarinia causes an estimated 30 to 50 deaths each year.
Synonymy vespa japonica radoszkowski (1857) vespa latilineata cameron (1903)
A single hornet can kill as many as 40 honey bees per minute thanks to its large mandibles which can quickly strike and decapitate a bee. Its body length is approximately 50 mm (2 in), its wingspan about. Commonly referred to as the asian giant hornet, vespa mandarinia’s unrivaled size and distinctive markings make it easily distinguishable from other asian hornet species (matsuura and yamane 1990; Asian giant hornets are most likely to thrive in places with warm summers, mild winters, and high rainfall.