Any wasps / insects in NZ that resemble a Asian Hornet?

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Chris A

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whatawhata
Experience
Hobbyist
Today I spotted a large wasp / hornet in a paddock about 50m from my hives, it looked pretty much exactly like the Asian hornet, large orange head / mandibles, about 3-4cm in length with orange / black stripes on its abdomen. I ran inside to get my phone to take a picture but when i returned it had left, I did a search of my property and no sign of it / any nests. I have been beekeeping for about 6 years now and am well used to the usual suspects, this was quite a bit bigger in length and girth than any queen german wasp i have ever seen. I reported it to MPI but its looking like they wont do much without a photo / specimen.... They (MPI) sent the below links but what i saw looked nothing like the ones in the links, it looked just like what you see when you google asian hornet. One would think the likleyhood is low that it was one, but hoping maybe someone out there has seen something similar and knows what i saw.

Spider hunting wasps » Manaaki Whenua

Golden Spider Wasp (Cryptocheilus australis)

Golden Hunting Wasp (Sphictostethus nitidus)

Radumeris tasmaniensis

I am based in Whatawhata Waikato, and this is the first time I have ever seen one of these (so if it is a hornet, im guessing the nest is quite far from my property <maybe food supply is running short and they are expanding their foraging range?>) .

Any suggestions / advice please? In the interim i am keeping an eye out for a recurrence so i can get a photo.
 
Grant

Grant

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Founder Member
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You would have through MPI could give you more in the way of images than that, when a beekeeper suggests its a hornet. The Asian hornet is massive, way bigger than a large wasp.
However, they dont appear to have included the Asian paper wasp

Photo Gallery

Photo Gallery
abetterclean.webs.com abetterclean.webs.com
 
C

Chris A

2
0
whatawhata
Experience
Hobbyist
Thanks for the feedback, I spend a lot of time outdoors at my place and never seen one of these before. It was just the vivid orange coloring and sheer size of this wasp / hornet that got me concerned - didnt resemble a paper wasp in my opinion - they are more slender than the germans right? Looked more like a german wasp body shape but orange - less the spots etc on the abdomen and a lot bigger. I guess ill just keep an eye out and hopefully photograph one if i ever see one again.
 
C

calpis

1
2
Otago
Experience
Beginner
Having seen an asian giant hornet fly across my path while walking up a mountain in Japan, I don’t think anything in NZ could be mistaken for it. Your description seems pretty spot on though I really hope it was something else somehow. It almost goes without saying we really don’t want it getting established here. If you try to catch it be very careful, every year there are a few people who die from their stings.
Be on the look out for any lost hives where the bees have been decapitated. It was how they picked up that hornet had invaded the US/Canada The Asian Giant Hornet Resurfaces in the Pacific Northwest
 
  • Good Info
Reactions: Trevor Gillbanks and Nadia


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