Black-Tailed Hornet
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Tokyo

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

64 Verified sightings at Tokyo
44 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Black-Tailed Hornet

Vespa ducalis, the black-tailed hornet, is a species of hornet in the genus Vespa. It was described by Smith in 1852. In Japan, it is called himesuzumebachi (姫雀蜂; literally: "princess sparrow wasp"). Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hefei 🇨🇳 China
~20%
2 Taichung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
3 Taipei 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
4 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
5 Nanjing 🇨🇳 China
~10%
6 Tokyo 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%
7 Osaka 🇯🇵 Japan
<5%
8 Seoul 🇰🇷 South Korea
<5%
9 Hong Kong 🇨🇳 China
<5%
10 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black-Tailed Hornet in Tokyo?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Tailed Hornet sighting in Tokyo on a given day, based on 64 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 199th most-seen of the 1013 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Black-Tailed Hornet in Tokyo?

June to October

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Tailed Hornet in Tokyo on a given day, against under 5% in November to May, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Black-Tailed Hornet?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-Tailed Hornet sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Tokyo the best place to see a Black-Tailed Hornet?

6th of 11

Of the 11 cities where we can rate Black-Tailed Hornet sightings, Tokyo ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Hefei (China, about 20%), Taichung (Taiwan, about 10%) and Taipei (Taiwan, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Black-Tailed Hornet live in Tokyo?

Same genus: Vespa

The closest relatives of the Black-Tailed Hornet that you can see in Tokyo (genus Vespa, Hornets) are Yellow-Vented Hornet (about 10%), Asian Giant Hornet (about 10%) and Yellow Hornet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Black-Tailed Hornet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black-Tailed Hornet is recorded against all the insects logged in Tokyo (64 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.

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