The Diversity of Hornets in the Genus Vespa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Vespinae), Their Importance and Interceptions in the United States Author Smith-Pardo, Allan H. USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Science and Technology (S & T), Sacramento, CA, allan.h.smith-pardo@usda.gov Author Carpenter, James M. Department of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, Author Kimsey, Lynn Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, and text Insect Systematics and Diversity 2020 2020-05-31 4 3 2 1 27 journal article 22147 10.1093/isd/ixaa006 6c2ad151-a6e0-4c1b-be84-d1950abe22dd 2399-3421 3826921 Vespa simillima Smith Figs. 42 and 43 Vespa simillima Smith, 1868: 280 . Holotype female; Japan : ‘ Hakodadi’ (LONDON-NHM). Vespa mongolica André, 1884: 4 . Syntype male, female; Russia : ‘Vladivostock, sur l’Amour, dans la Sibérie orientale’ ( PARIS ?) . Vespa xanthoptera Cameron, 1903: 278 . Holotype male; Japan : ‘ Michzusawa’ (LONDON-NHM). Vespa micado Cameron, 1903: 279 . Lectotype female (designated by Kojima, 1997: 20); Japan : Nagasaki (LONDON-NHM). Vespa mongolica var. sexpunctata Pérez, 1905: 24 . Holotype female; Japan : ‘ Yokohama’ (PARIS). Vespa mongolica var. flavata Pérez, 1910: 17 . Holotype female; China (PARIS). Distribution . China ( Liaoning ), southwestern Russia , Korea , Japan (including Yaku-shima Is.). Introduced into British Columbia , Canada , but not established; Taiwan ? Discussion . Nests of this species have been found in the ground, and in sheltered above ground sites, such as hollow trees, wall voids, and attics. A queen of V. simillima was found in the village of Tsaochan in Taiwan in 2003, but it is unclear whether the species has established on the island ( Sung et al. 2006 ). It is apparently not established in British Colombia (Kimsey and Carpenter 2012).