Vespa crabro Linnaeus

Figs. 1, 2a, 2b, 3b, 3d, 9d, 11b, 11c, and 22–26

Vespa crabro Linnaeus, 1758: 572 . Holotype female; ‘in Europae’ (LONDON-LS).

Vespa vexator Harris, 1776: 128 . Holotype female; ‘English’ (destroyed).

Vespa crabro major Retzius (in Degeer), 1783: 63; Type unknown (repository unknown).

Vespa pratensis Geoffroy (in Fourcroy), 1785: 437; Type unknown; France: ‘in Agro Parisiensi’ (repository unknown).

Vespa crabro germana Christ, 1791: 215 . Type unknown (destroyed).

Vespa crabroniformis Smith, 1852: 40 . Syntype female, male; ‘ North China’ (LONDON-NHM) .

Vespa crabro var. borealis Radoszkowski, 1863: 128 . Syntype female, male; Russia: ‘Pargolova i Osinovoa Roshchi’ (repository unknown). Nec Vespa borealis Kirby, 1837, Vespa borealis Zetterstedt, 1840, and Vespa borealis Smith, 1843 .

Vespa crabro var. anglica Gribodo, 1892 (1891): 242. Syntype females; England: ‘ Inghilterra’ (GENOA). Nec Vespa anglica Smith, 1843 .

Vespa oberthuri du Buysson, 1902: 140; Syntype females; China: ‘Chine: Se-Tchouen, Sio-Lou’ (PARIS) .

Vespa flavofasciata Cameron, 1903: 280 . Lectotype female (designated by Kojima, 1997: 21); Japan: ‘ Nügata (Shinanogawa)’ (LONDON-NHM).

Vespa crabro var. tartarea du Buysson, 1905 (1904): 506. Syntype females; Japan: ‘Yokohama ... Columbia’ (BUDAPEST).

Vespa crabro var. altaica Pérez, 1910: 5 . Holotype Female; Russia: Altaï (PARIS).

Vespa crabro var. caspica Pérez, 1910: 6 . Holotype Female; Azerbaijan: ‘ Talysch et Lenkoran, région Caspienne’ (PARIS).

Vespa crabro nigra Birula, 1925: 55 . Syntypes female, male; Russia: West Siberia from Urals to Enisei and slightly after Enisei [in Russian] (ST. PETERSBURG). Nec Vespa nigra Geoffroy, 1785 .

Vespa crabro vulgata Birula, 1925: 55 . Syntype female, male: west Europe (St. Petersburg).

Vespa crabro meridionalis Birula, 1925: 55 . Syntype females: Transcaucasia, north Persia, western part of Transcaspian region (ST. PETERSBURG).

Vespa crabro chinensis Birula, 1925: 55 . Syntypes female, male: middle and south China [in Russian] (ST. PETERSBURG). Nec Vespa chinensis Fabricius, 1793 .

Vespa crabro var. birulai Bequaert, 1931: 105 . Replacement name for Vespa crabro chinensis Birula.

Vespa crabro var. gribodoi Bequaert, 1931: 105 . Replacement name for Vespa crabro var. anglica Gribodo.

Distribution. Eurasia, Algeria. Introduced into eastern North America, and Guatemala.

Discussion. Vespa crabro usually nests in sheltered aboveground sites, such as tree hollows, wall voids, beehives, and outhouses (Archer 1993). However, nests have been found in subterranean sites as well. This species adapts well to urban and suburban settings. It is widespread in Eurasia, and now eastern North America. The species was first reported in the United States in New York in the 1800s. More recently, the species was recorded from a single worker collected in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It was found in the Entomological Collection of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (Landolt et al. 2010). There is no evidence that the species is established in Guatemala. Nests are built in cavities in trees or buildings.