Establishment of Vespa bicolor in Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

I-Hsin Sung; Sheng-Shan Lu; Jung-Tai Chao; Wen-Chi Yeh; Wei-Jie Lee

doi:10.1093/jisesa/ieu093

Establishment of Vespa bicolor in Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

J Insect Sci. 2014 Jan 1:14:231. doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieu093. Print 2014.

Authors

I-Hsin Sung¹, Sheng-Shan Lu², Jung-Tai Chao³, Wen-Chi Yeh³, Wei-Jie Lee⁴

Affiliations

¹ Miaoli District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Miaoli 363, Taiwan.
² Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Taipei 100, Taiwan sslu@tfri.gov.tw.
³ Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
⁴ Raptor Research Group of Taiwan, Taipei 104, Taiwan.

Abstract

The establishment of a hornet, Vespa bicolor F., in Taiwan was confirmed based on successful field collection of adults of both sexes and two subterranean colonies. Information on nesting habitat, nest measurement, and colony composition of this species are provided in this article. V. bicolor is the ninth hornet species ever recorded from Taiwan. Possible pathway for the introduction of this alien species is also discussed.

Keywords: Taiwan; honey bee predator; hornet; new record; social wasp.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animal Distribution*
Animals
Female
Male
Taiwan
Wasps / physiology*