Vespa soror
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Vespa soror, also known as the southern giant hornet, is a species of hornet present in India, Northern Thailand, Laos, Northern Vietnam, and parts of South China, including Hong Kong, Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan Island.
V. soror is one of the largest hornets, though smaller than the Asian giant hornet (V. mandarinia). The body lengths of the workers range from 26–35 mm, and those of queens range from 39–46 mm. Their nests are typically subterranean and found in forested areas.
They are aggressive predators and have been observed to attack the nests of honeybees, wasps, and smaller hornet species. They also prey on mantids, dragonflies, butterflies, grasshoppers, and small vertebrates such as geckos.
V. soror frequently attack bee colonies in groups, landing at and chewing on entrances, mass slaughtering adult defenders, and carrying away the carcasses and brood, which can destroy a colony. They exhibit behavior of rubbing their gasters on the hive and nearby vegetation during predation, and this may be a recruitment signal to attract other V. soror workers to attack. A defensive technique of Apis cerana bees that has been found to be widespread in Vietnam... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Giant Hornet sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 58 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 185th most-seen of the 1125 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Giant Hornet in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in February and June–July, the lowest months. That is one of Hong Kong's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 280 mm in June.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Giant Hornet sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Southern Giant Hornet sightings, Hong Kong ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Tuen Mun (China, about 10%).
Same genus: Vespa
The closest relatives of the Southern Giant Hornet that you can see in Hong Kong (genus Vespa, Hornets) are Yellow-Legged Hornet (about 20%), Black Shield Hornet (about 10%) and Lesser Banded Hornet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Giant Hornet is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (58 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
