An Oriental Hornet (Vespa orientalis) Encounter at the Al Shawkha Trail in Ras Al Khaimah

 

An Oriental Hornet holding and chewing an insect fragment

An Oriental Hornet landing on a rocky outcrop

The large yellow band on its abdomen is characteristic to the Oriental Hornet

Getting ready to take off! You have only a few seconds to take that shot!

It was on my descent from my hike across the Al Shawkha Trail in RAK, that I got to encounter this awesome hornet. I was walking on the road side when a rapid, loud, buzzing sound passed right unto my face and landed unfazed unto a rocky outcrop. It was an Oriental Hornet holding on and chewing unto an insect fragment.

The Oriental Hornet, Vespa orientalis (VESPIDAE)

An adult Oriental Hornet is reddish-brown in color and possesses distinctive thick yellow bands on its abdomen and yellow patches on its head right between the eyes. It can measure 25 to 35 mm long. Drones (males) and workers are smaller in size as compared to the Queen. Males can be further distinguished from the female workers by the number of segments on its antennae, there are 12 segments for the female workers and 13 segments for the males. The female workers and the Queen have an ovipositor which is a specialized organ used for egg laying. This ovipositor can reach up to the tip of the abdomen and it is also used as a sting. The female sting is painful to humans. The Oriental Hornet also has a very strong jaw (mandible) and it will bite when provoked. (Be careful when you encounter any hornet and do not harassed it to avoid bites and stings).  

Distribution of the Oriental Hornet

The Oriental Hornet is the only Vespa species adapted and thriving in the desert climate conditions of North Africa, the Middle East and Southwestern Asia. It has also been reported to be present in Central Asia and in countries of Southern Europe.

Biodynamics Notes

The Oriental Hornet is a social insect which lives in seasonal colonies under a caste system dominated by a Queen. This colony thrives throughout the spring and summer until its peak during early fall. At its peak, a colony can be composed of several thousand hornets housed in 3 to 6 combs containing 600-900 individual cells. The nest is commonly located and constructed underground but the the workers can also construct paper nests in protective hollow sites like tree voids, inside container vans and abandoned vehicles. Hornet workers use the fiber they strip-off from the bark of twigs, tree branches and shrubs to construct paper nests.  

Inside the colony, the Queen is the only reproductive female. The hornet workers are her daughters and the drones her sons. The drones only serve a reproductive function. The workers are tasked with all the needed labor for the colony: foraging, building the nest, caring for the brood and defense.  All members of the colony are related to each other. Altruism is uniquely practiced by these social insects, wherein the nonreproductive members work solely for the benefit of the colony.  

The adult hornet diet is composed mainly of carbohydrates from nectar, honeydew and fruits. They hunt also for flies, yellow jackets, grasshoppers and honey bees, which they feed unto the colony's brood.    

A truly notable feature of the Oriental Hornet is their preference to be more active during the middle of the day! It has a thick active layer (cuticle) that allows them to absorb sunlight. They have built-in "solar cells" that can generate electrical energy from sunlight. Research has revealed that the yellow pigment on the hornet's body traps sunlight, while the brown colored tissues generate the electricity. This energy is probably utilized to power their strong mandibles for soil digging. A solar-powered hornet — truly awesome!

As the Oriental Hornet can bite and sting, do not harass or provoke when encountered. Avoid venturing nearby their ground nest. Only well-trained and well-protected pest management professionals (PMPs) must handle any control requirement for these hornets.    

During my encounter with the Oriental Hornet, it did not exhibit any aggressive behavior, it did not pose to attack. It was just occupied with its foraging activity in the bright sunlight which gave me the awesome opportunity to observe this awesome hornet. 

Awesome creatures! Awesome CREATOR!

Thanks for your support and careful attention. 

If you need Pest Management Training, Technical Field Support, On-Line and On-Site Consultancy, please feel free to send me an email: odelon.reyes@gmail.com