Colony Development in the Hornet Vespa affinis (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

A total of 134 Vespa affinis colonies were studied and data collected from these colonies was used to build a computer model which predicted the daily growth of a colony. The model was used to compare the development between small and large colonies of Vespa affinis. Observed data and model-generated values are in good agreement. The timing of events was similar in all colonies, despite large variations in size. Slow colony growth is due to the failure of workers to build new cells, while differences between species depend on the ability of the queen to lay eggs. The greatly reduced number of sexuals produced by small colonies is most likely to result from incidents occurring earlier rather than later in the nesting season. The nesting biology of sub-tropical V. affinis was compared with that of V. simillima, a similar-sized, aerial-nesting, temperate species.