Asian giant hornet

Description:

[ Credit : Wikipidia ] Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila. There are nearly 20,000 known species of bees in seven to nine recognized families. though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants. Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for larvae. The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), including the subspecies Japanese giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica), colloquially known as the yak-killer hornet,is the world's largest hornet, native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia. Its body length is approximately 50 mm (2 in), its wingspan about 76 mm (3 in),and it has a 6 mm (0.2 in) sting which injects a large amount of potent venom. Bees have a long proboscis (a complex "tongue") that enables them to obtain the nectar from flowers. They have antennae almost universally made up of 13 segments in males and 12 in females, as is typical for the superfamily. Bees all have two pairs of wings, the hind pair being the smaller of the two; in a very few species, one sex or caste has relatively short wings that make flight difficult or impossible, but none are wingless.

Habitat:

[ Credit : Wikipidia ] It can be found in the Primorsky Krai region of Russia, Korea (where it is called 장수말벌; "commander bee"), China, Taiwan (where it is called 虎頭蜂; "tiger head bee"), Indochina, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka, but is most common in rural areas of Japan

Notes:

I found it in flower festival at Chiang Rai on New Year Day !