🪐 View in 3D Galaxy 📏 View on 3D Scale Stage

🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Vespa velutina

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Vespidae

Genus

Vespa

Species

Vespa velutina

Insecta🥩 Carnivore

Yellow-legged hornet

Vespa velutina (Yellow-legged hornet · ツマアカスズメバチ)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)NE (Not Evaluated)

Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Carnivore

Length · Height

2cm · No data

Mass · Top Speed

No data · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Urban areas, forests, and around apiaries

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 Government guidance advises quickly moving away and calling the fire department if you see a hornet nest or are attacked, and wearing bright clothes rather than dark clothes outdoors.
💡 A worker's body length of about 20 mm is slightly longer than the diameter of a Korean 10-won coin (18 mm) (Comparison). Damage to honey bees reduces income for beekeeping farms.

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

#등검은말벌#Vespa velutina

📖 1. Overview

The yellow-legged hornet is an introduced hornet from southern China that preys on honey bees, causing heavy damage to beekeeping, and is managed as an ecosystem-disturbing species in Korea.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Body length is about 20 mm in workers, about 24 mm in males, and about 30 mm in queens. Compared with other hornets, it prefers urban areas.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

Honey bees make up more than 85% of its diet, and it raids honey bees, weakening hive strength. Overwintered queens begin solitary activity in April–June, and catching a single queen at this time has the effect of preventing more than 3,000–5,000 hornets.

🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea

Estimated to have entered through Busan from China in 2003, it has spread by 10–20 km per year and now occurs nationwide. It was designated an ecosystem-disturbing species in 2019 and accounts for more than 40% of urban hornet emergency calls.