Vespa binghami
Species of Hornet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vespa binghami, also known as Bingham's hornet,[1] is a species of hornet found in northern Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, parts of India, parts of China, Korea, and parts of Russia.[2]
| Bingham's hornet | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Vespidae |
| Genus: | Vespa |
| Species: | V. binghami |
| Binomial name | |
| Vespa binghami du Buysson, 1905 | |
Description
Vespa binghami is a medium to large-sized hornet. The size of workers average to 30mm,[2] with a forewing size ranging between 19.0mm to 25.6mm in both males and females.[3] The colour of the hornets can vary, with ones found in Southeast Asia having a brown body with a yellow head, and ones found in Russia and Korea being mostly brown with yellow markings on the abdomen.[2] The key distinguishing feature of Vespa binghami are that the ocelli are much larger than those found in other related species.[2]
Distribution
Behaviours
Not much is known about the behaviours of Vespi binghami due to it being a rarely sighted species despite its range.[2] Unlike other hornet species, Vespa binghami are nocturnal creatures, and may be the reason behind the enlarged oculli that it possesses.[2] A study on the South Korean hornet population found that they prefer to prey on Noctuoidea species and like to choose tree cavities for nesting.[4]