Lamnamkok NP, Chiang Rai, Thailand Family : Vespidae Subfamily : Vespinae Species : Vespa velutina Vespa velutina is a medium sized hornet with the queens typically measuring around 30mm in length while males are 24mm. Workers are smaller at around 20mm in length. It is an opportunistic hunter and can sustain itself from a number of different food sources from very small insects to dragonflies and grasshoppers. They are among the best hunters in the insect world and have amazing flight skills. The species has a long life cycle with the queens awakening from hibernation in late March or April and the colony lasting until the following January. It is considered a pest in many areas as it has a special liking for honey bees and can wipe out whole colonies in a matter of hours. In Asia, the Eastern Honey Bee has evolved a strategy of avoiding hornets by rapid entry and exit from the hive and also by using another technique called thermo-balling. Up to 500 bees engulf the hornet in a ball. Vibrations produced by the mob of bees increases the temperature inside the ball to 47 degrees C, which is lethal to the hornet. Accidental importation into Europe has seen the species increase and spread, causing great concern to beekeepers as European bees are much easier prey than their Eastern counterparts. All my insect pics are single, handheld shots of live insects in wild situations.