Hornet asian

The Asian Hornet aka Vespa Velutina Nigrithorax, or hornet with yellow legs is recognizable thanks to its yellow pasta, black thorax, brown abdominal segments bordered by a thin yellow band and only the fourth segment is yellow-orange. The head is black and orange-yellow.

Here are some pictures of the specimen:

Not to be confused with the European Hornet, Vespa Carbro, which presents reddish colors, and its abdomen is striped black and yellow.

Asian Hornet Life Cycle:

The Asian Hornet has a life cycle of 1 year.

In the spring the queen begins to found her colony in a primary nest in a sheltered place (shed, porch, garden sheds) and deck the first eggs that will give birth to female workers.

The females are responsible for providing for the queen, who is solely responsible for spawning.

In early summer the small colony leaves the primary nest to build a much larger secondary nest. Most in height, crown of the trees, but one observes more and more secondary nest at the level of the dwellings.

Protein requirements are high. Hence the predation of bees which is a prey of choice. Hovering in front of the entrance of the hive, the hornets catch the bees in full flight. They kill by decapitation and form a pellet with the abdomen loaded with pollen that will feed the larvae of the colony.

At the end of the summer the first males appear in the colony, as well as the future queens.

The nest is at its peak with more than 10,000 active individuals!

At the beginning of the winter the queens, fertilized by the males, leave the nest and seek a place of nesting to pass the winter (tree trunk, moss, underground, etc.).