---
title: "Yellow-legged Hornet"
description: "Vespa velutina — Insects & spiders. The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), also known as the yellow-legged hornet or Asian predatory wasp, is a species of hornet indigenous to Southeast Asia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/yellow-legged-hornet
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Yellow-legged Hornet

> Vespa velutina — Insects & spiders. The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), also known as the yellow-legged hornet or Asian predatory wasp, is a species of hornet indigenous to Southeast Asia.

- Scientific name: *Vespa velutina*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 33807
- Wikidata: [Q136668](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q136668)
- iNaturalist taxon: [119019](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/119019)

## Names

- en: Yellow-legged Hornet
- de: Asiatische Hornisse
- es: Avispón asiático
- fr: Frelon asiatique
- nl: Aziatische hoornaar
- pt: Vespa asiática

## Countries with the most observations

BE (9573), FR (7277), PT (3448), ES (3270), CN (1773), DE (1467), HK (1230), LU (811), TW (559), NL (465), KR (410), ID (277)

## Summary

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), also known as the yellow-legged hornet or Asian predatory wasp, is a species of hornet indigenous to Southeast Asia.
It is of concern as an invasive species in some other countries, including most of Europe.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_hornet

## Photo

![Yellow-legged Hornet](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/yellow-legged-hornet/medium.jpg)

Photo: Vespa-Watch · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127531937

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/yellow-legged-hornet?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).