A study on habitats and behavioral characteristics of hornet wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Vespa orientalis), an important medical-health pest.

Hornet wasp or Vespa orietalis is one of the social and stinging insects of Iran that makes its nest mostly in the holes and cracks in the ground. Given the point that no study has been conducted in this case, yet, in this study, the nests of this arthropod are studied in four mountainous and plain areas in Kashan. Present study was of descriptive type and during it four nests of V. orientalis in four agricultural, residential, administrative and mountainous regions were identified and studied. The identification of the nests of these animals was done on the basis of observation abundance of this wasp around the nests, defense and the existence of definite tumulus in farmlands from May to September 2016-2-17. Tumulus, the nest of V. orientalis was irregular in farmland and imperceptible in residential and mountainous regions. The entrance of the nests in the soil was 3 × 5 cm. The nests of this hunter wasp were in the regions where a large number of its feeding arthropods were active. This study showed that the red wasps feed on cockroaches in residential regions, Schirasi woodlouse (Hemilepistus schirasi) and the larvae of butterflies in agricultural lands, and honey bees, larvae of butterflies and other insects in other regions. The results of this study revealed that the nests of V. orientalis as an opportunistic arthropod are seen in different places and if needed, this animal cleans the nests and to some extent it is a builder, occupier or tenant of the nest. The existence of this animal that nests in human habitats causes danger especially for children