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 orientalis Linnaeus Figs. 9a, 9b , and 40 Vespa orientalis Linnaeus, 1771: 540 . Holotype female; ‘Oriente’ (LONDON-LS). Vespa turcica Drury, 1773: 74 . Type unknown; Turkey : Smyrna (destroyed?) . Vespa quadripunctata Forskål, 1775: 84 ; Type ?; Egypt : Cairo , ‘ Kahirae ’ (COPENHAGEN?) . Vespa crabro fusca Christ, 1791: 216 . Type unknown; Turkey : ‘Smirna’ (destroyed). Vespa aegyptiaca Vallot, 1802: 170 ; Type unknown; Egypt (repository unknown). Figs. 36 and 37. Vespa mocsaryana color forms. (a) Lateral view. (b) Dorsal view. (c) Front view of face. Vespa nilotica Vallot, 1802: 170 ; Type unknown; Egypt (repository unknown). Vespa jurinei de Saussure, 1854: 133 ; Lectotype female (designated by Guiglia, 1971: 94); Albania (LONDON-NHM). Vespa orientalis var. aegyptiaca André, 1884: 584 ’ Type unknown; Egypt : Cairo , Alexandria ‘ Le Caire , Alexandrie’ ( PARIS ). Nec Vespa aegyptiaca Vallot, 1802 . Vespa indica Wroughton, 1889: 35 . Lapsus for Vespa orientalis Linnaeus. Vespa orientalis var. zavattarii Guiglia and Capra, 1933: 168 . Syntype females; Libya : ‘Fezzan, Ubari; Algeria : Oued Tizzi’ ( GENOA ) . Vespa orientalis var. somalica Giordani Soika, 1934: 184 . Lectotype female (designated by Giordani Soika, 1973: 11); Somalia : ‘Somalia italiana di Carim’ (VENICE). Vespa orientalis arabica Giordani Soika, 1957: 482 . Holotype female; Yemen : ‘ Western Aden Protectorate: Al Milah’ (LONDON-NHM). Distribution . north Africa, southern Europe, Turkey , Middle East, southern Russia , Afghanistan , Pakistan , India , Nepal , China ( Xinjiang ). Introduced into Czech Republic ; Spain ; Madagascar ; Mexico . Discussion . This is a distinctively marked reddish orange and yellow wasp. The nests are built in the ground in rodent burrows or rock crevices ( Archer 1998a ). Around human habitation, nests have also been found in empty beehives, under eaves or floorboards, and even in abandoned outhouses. It has been recorded from Mexico but is evidently not established ( Dvořák 2006 ). Vespa orientalis are scavengers, feeding on nectar and fruit as well as insects and carrion. They also prey on honeybees and other pollinators. A study by Plotkin et al. (2010) found that this species has a novel form of photosynthesis using yellow pigments in the cuticle.