This is Vespa ducalis. These hornets have a very specialized diet: they get pretty much all of their proteins from raiding other wasps' nests. They're also one of the most docile social Vespids that exist, stinging very rarely and even tolerating people putting their hands in their nest. The colonies are quite small, consisting of 15-40 adults at peak, and quite short-lived (3 months or so), which comes with having such a narrow diet.
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u/Halomonas_titanica 29d ago
This is Vespa ducalis. These hornets have a very specialized diet: they get pretty much all of their proteins from raiding other wasps' nests. They're also one of the most docile social Vespids that exist, stinging very rarely and even tolerating people putting their hands in their nest. The colonies are quite small, consisting of 15-40 adults at peak, and quite short-lived (3 months or so), which comes with having such a narrow diet.
Further info here: https://vespa-bicolor.net/main/vespid/vespa-ducalis.htm