Dangerous insects of Zanzibar

Aren't you afraid to run into hornets at home? Of the flying insects, the most dangerous is the midge, which carries all sorts of infection, which is very diverse in topics.

Dear insect experts,

tell me, please, what dangerous flying insects are found in the coastal zone of Zanzibar? I want to go there, but I don't want any problems. Especially interested in whether there are hornets there? And if so, what are the chances of encountering them on a beach holiday?

I apologize in advance that the question is not quite in the forum topic, but there are no people who know these questions on tourist forums...

No, there are no hornets in Zanzibar (as well as in equatorial Africa in general). The nearest point is Madagascar, where the eastern hornet Vespa orientalis Linnaeus, 1771, was accidentally introduced.
At the same time, you can meet blood - sucking diptera-mosquitoes and mosquitoes, some of which are carriers of tropical diseases. Therefore, it would not be harmful to insure yourself and make the necessary vaccinations in advance.

Aren't you afraid to run into hornets at home?

- I'm afraid to run into them everywhere, so Asia is closed to me, and most of Europe, unfortunately, is also closed during the warm season. In Moscow, this muck meets me once every few years, fortunately (pah-pah)


Therefore, it would not be harmful to insure yourself and make the necessary vaccinations in advance.

- what do you recommend? which ones? on tourist resources, information is contradictory, there is no yellow fever type for many years, typhoid fever is almost less dangerous than a side effect from vaccination against it, there is no vaccine for malaria at all...

AVA,

do you happen to know where to find a hornet distribution map, in any form (not necessarily a map, but just a list)? I searched on the forum and there was a link, but it no longer works

AVA,

do you happen to know where to find a hornet distribution map, in any form (not necessarily a map, but just a list)? I searched on the forum and there was a link, but it doesn't work anymore

I can't find it anywhere. As for the distribution of hornets, it goes something like this:
- not at all in South America, Africa (except the north), and Australia.
- 3-4 species from Europe and East Asia were brought to North America with commercial cargo, but so far only one has acclimatized;
- about 10-12 species live in the Palearctic, of which 8 live in Russia (mainly in the Far East);
- the vast majority of species are found in Asia, especially in the southeast.

PS If it's not a secret, tell us what the reason for your hornet phobia is. Was there really a personal negative experience with the detection of allergies? So take antihistamines like tavegil with you. The fact is that hornets are not the most aggressive stinging hymenoptera. Honeybees on this side are much more dangerous. Hornets are not interested in humans in principle, and, unlike some other operating systems, they do not bother us. If we don't touch their nests, they ignore us altogether. So I don't understand why you consider them "disgusting".

AVA

Thank you for the information, about the phobia is not a secret, of course. This is from childhood, at the age of 1 year, my mother scared a bumblebee, but the hornet looks more intimidating, then this low buzzing and so on create a psychological effect. There are no logical grounds, they never bit me, purely emotions. Instectophobia in its purest form, wasps and bees are also unnerving, but not as much as a hornet.

Let me ask you a couple more questions, I wonder.

In Russia, there are giant hornets, but they do not fly west of some longitude, I wonder why. Of course, I am very happy about this fact, but it is not clear. The climate in eastern Siberia is not at all similar to the Asian tropics, and in more western areas it seems warmer and logically more favorable for large insects. Once in the Moscow region, I saw a wasp much larger than the European hornet (I almost had a stroke), but I think that this is a scolia, which is still more realistic to meet here than the Asian hornet.

And the second question is: does the European hornet live in the northern part of Norway and Finland?

Yes, I fully agree with the origin of fears. This is how many phobias arise. In principle, you can overcome it, although you need the help of an adequate psychotherapist.
If you have any questions:
1. Yes giant Asian hornets Vespa mandarinia live in the Russian Far East, going north to the Amur region. They are ubiquitously associated with mountain broadleaf forests, which is obviously a limiting factor for the spread of the species to the west through the taiga zone of Siberia.
The fact that you saw a very large hornet in MO is not V. mandarinia, but the female founder of the European hornet V. crabro, which is about one and a half times larger than the commonly found working individuals.
The giant scolia Megascolia maculata has not yet been recorded in the Moscow Region, although there are known finds from the Lipetsk, Tula, Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod regions. and also from Mordovia.
2. No, the European hornet has not been observed in northern Norway and Finland. The northernmost finds are St. Petersburg (Vyborg) and the surrounding areas of Finland.

  
2. No, the European hornet has not been observed in northern Norway and Finland. The northernmost finds are St. Petersburg (Vyborg) and the surrounding areas of Finland.

The northern limit of Vespa crabro distribution in Fennoscandia (according to finds after 1970) is limited to 62 N (Pekkarinen & Huldén, 1995), which corresponds to the July +16C isotherms. But, things are changing… Until 2000, the hornet was quite rare in South Karelia (it was even listed in the regional Red Book), and in this century it became quite common here until about the northern tip of Lake Onega. In 2002, I collected one Vespa crabro working specimen on Myagostrov Island in the Onega Bay of the White Sea (~ 5 km from the mainland) at a latitude of 6420 N, which is just north of the northernmost Vespa crabro find in Finland https://laji.fi/en/taxon/MX.204105/occurrence, and in Europe (according to GBIF data - https://www.gbif.org/species/1311527).
In Norway, the hornet is generally found only in the very south of the country, unlike in central Sweden or Finland, where it is still marked.

The northern limit of Vespa crabro distribution in Fennoscandia (according to finds after 1970) is limited to 62 N (Pekkarinen & Huldén, 1995), which corresponds to the July +16C isotherms. But, things are changing… Until 2000, the hornet was quite rare in South Karelia (it was even listed in the regional Red Book), and in this century it became quite common here until about the northern tip of Lake Onega. In 2002, I collected one Vespa crabro working specimen on Myagostrov Island in the Onega Bay of the White Sea (~ 5 km from the mainland) at a latitude of 6420 N, which is just north of the northernmost Vespa crabro find in Finland https://laji.fi/en/taxon/MX.204105/occurrence, and in Europe (according to GBIF data - https://www.gbif.org/species/1311527).
In Norway, the hornet is generally found only in the very south of the country, unlike in central Sweden or Finland, where it is still marked.

I can supplement your information with references:
Kullberg J. 1995. Migration of hornet (Vespa crabro L.) in southwestern archipelago of Finland in 1992. Sahlbergia, 2: 112.
Larson F. K. 1988. Notes on local high density of Vespa crabro L. (Hym., Vespidae) in Sweden. The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine, 124:91-92.
Pekarrinen A. 1989 The hornet (Vespa crabro L.) in Finland and its changing nothern limit in northwestern Europe. Entomologisk Tidskrift, 110:161-164.

Most likely (99%) ,you will see fewer insects there than at home in the country. Deficit! Unless the termites will "swarm". From large" wasps " can get a large single, with such beautiful purple wings . But, I even managed to take a picture of it once in two months, from a few meters, with all my desire and fast legs and the ability to pretend to be a baobab tree. I could only see the car that was hit by a car. Although I wouldn't be surprised if a person who doesn't need insects for nothing gets knocked up right in the room, with a couple of Goliath bronzes and a pack of rhinos that aren't known to science.

AVA,

since I went hard offtopic and educational program (for me)...
what size is the queen of the giant Asian hornet?

Nikolayevich, unfortunately, this is exactly the case. My grandfather was afraid of snakes and saw them everywhere (and I have no doubt that in 99% of cases he saw a branch or a piece of wire). My wife has repeatedly vacationed in Thailand and says that "there are no hornets there and in general I have never seen them." I met him in a restaurant at M's. Tretyakov Gallery on the window the law of meanness in action

AVA,

since I went hard offtopic and educational program (for me)...
what size is the queen of the giant Asian hornet?

Vespa mandarinia has a female founder with a body length of 45-50 mm and a wingspan of 80-85 mm. Sometimes the dimensions may be slightly larger. Vespa soror has approximately the same dimensions.

...My wife has repeatedly vacationed in Thailand and says that "there are no hornets there and in general I have never seen them." I met him in a restaurant at M's. Tretyakov Gallery on the window the law of meanness in action

Hmm, but in Thailand, almost a dozen and a half species of hornets are reliably registered:
Vespa affinis (Linnaeus, 1764),
V. analis Fabricius, 1775,
V. basalis F.Smith, 1852,
V. bicolor Fabricius, 1787,
V. binghami du Buysson, 1905,
V. ducalis F.Smith, 1852,
V. dybowskii Andre, 1884,
V. mandarinia F.Smith, 1852,
V. mocsaryana du Buysson, 1905,
V. multimaculata Perez, 1910,
V. soror du Buysson, 1905,
V. tropica (Linnaeus, 1758),
V. velutina Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1836,
V. vivax F.Smith, 1870.
But in Moscow you can only find V. crabro Linnaeus, 1758.

Nikolayevich, unfortunately, this is exactly the case. My grandfather was afraid of snakes and saw them everywhere (and I have no doubt that in 99% of cases he saw a branch or a piece of wire). My wife has repeatedly vacationed in Thailand and says that "there are no hornets there and in general I have never seen them." I met him in a restaurant at M's. Tretyakov Gallery on the window the law of meanness in action

So maybe your wife doesn't even see hornets in Russia, but sees, for example, handbags from famous designers in the crowd. Human vision is very selective.

ENO, that's right, we hit the nail on the head with handbags

AVA, thank you for the information. And another question about Asians. As I understand it, their migration is limited by coniferous taiga, which stretches for thousands of kilometers, that is, ten times more than the" flight zone " of the uterus. And if some environmental terrorist brings a mandarinia uterus to the European part of the Russian Federation, theoretically they can take root and breed here (God forbid, of course)?

As it happened in the US this year. The delivery was clearly deliberate. After all, even if we assume that the uterus accidentally got into the cargo from Asia, the chances of survival of one individual are extremely small. Well, the ocean must be crossed, without food it is probably unlikely. The nest is also unlikely to have been brought in by accident, it is difficult not to notice it. So there was a targeted import of the population.

And more about hornets in the United States. You wrote that there are no" native " hornets there. I read a book as a child, I don't remember the title or author, but it's someone from the "classic" clip, the level of Twain, Cooper, etc., it mentioned that "a hornet circled a lamp", it was about the USA 100+ years ago. The point is clear, the book is fiction, and theoretically you can write anything you want there. But you must agree, if this is the author's fantasy, then it is strange. And also – I do not doubt your knowledge in any way, I'm just telling you a curious fact.

PS the topic of the branch can be safely changed to "questions of an interested amateur about hornets"

This post was edited by kaizerbilli - 12/23/2020 12: 35

AVA, thank you for the information. And another question about Asians. As I understand it, their migration is limited by coniferous taiga, which stretches for thousands of kilometers, that is, ten times more than the" flight zone " of the uterus. And if some environmental terrorist brings a mandarinia uterus to the European part of the Russian Federation, theoretically they can take root and breed here (God forbid, of course)?

As it happened in the US this year. The delivery was clearly deliberate. After all, even if we assume that the uterus accidentally got into the cargo from Asia, the chances of survival of one individual are extremely small. Well, the ocean must be crossed, without food it is probably unlikely. The nest is also unlikely to have been brought in by accident, it is difficult not to notice it. So there was a targeted import of the population.

And more about hornets in the United States. You wrote that there are no" native " hornets there. I read a book as a child, I don't remember the title or author, but it's someone from the "classic" clip, the level of Twain, Cooper, etc., it mentioned that "a hornet circled a lamp", it was about the USA 100+ years ago. The point is clear, the book is fiction, and theoretically you can write anything you want there. But you must agree, if this is the author's fantasy, then it is strange. And also – I do not doubt your knowledge in any way, I'm just telling you a curious fact.

PS the topic of the branch can be safely changed to "questions of an interested amateur about hornets"

No, the "terrorist" importation of V. mandarinia into the European part of Russia would hardly have been successful. We don't have the right conditions for them to live, even compared to Washington State, where they were discovered and destroyed. There was also a clear importation of a wintering female with commercial cargo. Similarly, V. simillima was introduced from Asia to British Columbia, and V. affinis to California. However, the last two species are known only from isolated finds, and they are unlikely to have acclimatized. Another thing is V. crabro, known in the United States since the end of the XIX century, this most plastic species was imported from Europe and successfully acclimatized in the eastern United States.
As for the "native" American hornets, Dolichovespula maculata (Linnaeus, 1763) appears under the local name Bald-faced hornet in the United States. It is an analog and close relative of our middle wasp Dolichovespula media (Retzius, 1783).
By the way, accidental importation to Australia, New Zealand, and even Colombia and Argentina with subsequent successful acclimatization is known for Vespula germanica, V. vulgaris, and some other social wasps.

That would be cool! Although, on the other hand, my polists clearly wouldn't approve.

I wouldn't mind either. As for polistov, according to my observations, they become victims of hornets very rarely.

And for mine - very often, there is even an article about it. That's just talking about polistov, nesting openly on plants, probably in Moscow there are no such.

And for mine - very often, there is even an article about it. But we are talking about polistas that nest openly on plants, probably there are no such ones in Moscow.

Well, it's quite possible. But our hornets prefer " fat " honeybees and gray meat flies. Rarely does anything else get in their teeth.
What's the article? Can I ask you to send a pdf copy to the soap?

IMHO, but the pathetic destruction of the supposedly only mandarin nest in the United States is a mess in the sense that this is far from the only nest. You just need to wait)
And as for the fact that mandarinia will not take root in the European part of the RFII, this is also very unlikely, if of course you approach it correctly, it's just that Moscow is not the entire European part of the RFii

But who we really can expect to visit is Vespa Velutina
If anything, this outgoing year the velutina has made a good leap of thousands of kilometers, and is moving east in a solid front, I think that next year it will appear in Germany, and throughout Italy(this year it has already been found in Italy) and may even be found in the Balkans

Dolichovespula media I most likely saw, flew into the window is clearly unconventionally large wasp, but not up to a hornet. What surprised me was that it flew almost noiselessly, and that's also why it didn't make such an overwhelming impression as the hornet.
What is the situation with hornets in the very south of Spain and Portugal? I understand that the "concentration" of Vespa Crabro decreases as it moves south down to zero in the southern hemisphere.
I have traveled a lot in the resorts of Europe and not only, my experience is as follows. I have never seen hornets on the east coast of Spain (where there are not too many flies) and on the Greek mainland in Halkidiki, Tenerife and Malta. In the south of Spain/I haven't been to Portugal. I came across them once in Crete, but the natives say there are a lot of them there. I have repeatedly encountered them in Germany, Poland and Hungary. The most nightmare is Lithuania, specifically the Baltic Sea resort coast, Palanga and Nida in 2008. The year turned out to be unusually hot, which caused more colonies (or generations?)to breed. I didn't have any insects to save me from wasps at all, and it was very uncomfortable for all the vacationers, and I just had to pack up my things and leave.
Hence the observation about the" decrease in density " to the south, which, of course, is limited by my experience and may be incorrect. Well, I was in the south on the coast, not in the depths of the mainland, this can make adjustments. For example, in Sri Lanka, there are practically no insects on the coast (Galle district), and I have not climbed into the jungle /mountains, and there, as I understand it, there is a complete set of all the charms, including Mandarinia.

Well, yes, the further south you go, the worse it gets for Vespa crabro. But I don't know about Spain, and in the Eastern Mediterranean they are being replaced by vespa orientalis.

I really don't care about ENO, crabro or Orientalis, as long as I don't like less Regular oss, of course, but I can survive

Well, yes, the further south you go, the worse it gets for Vespa crabro. But I don't know about Spain, and in the Eastern Mediterranean they are being replaced by vespa Orientalis.

Yes, there is V. crabro in Spain, and in Iran, and now also in Guatemala, and even in the east of Australia!

In Spain, probably, in the mountains only? They don't like dry, hot climates, as Pan Stepovoi can attest.

Gentlemen.

You say there are no hornets in Africa?
Varlamov's new report from South Sudan, insect at the moment 2/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFDtgCZYnHc&t=173s

Varlamov called the insect "a huge black African wasp"
Isn't it a hornet? If so, which one? Velutina?

This post was edited by kaizerbilli - 13.01.2021 17: 27

It's probably some kind of bee, and definitely not a hornet, do hornets build such nests?)

It reminded me of krabranida. Sometimes you can't tell a bee from a wasp with your own eyes. until you catch it, here's a rapid-fire video from Africa. Is this their prison? Cool, Grebennikov would check it out.

Yes. this is a prison, a VIP cell. Our guys got to the military junta, not for nothing did the poet say "do not go, children, to Africa for a walk"

a bee? well, of course, I'm not a specialist in any way, but visually, after all, the video is a real wasp. Of course, you can't tell the size from the video, since there is no object to compare. But Varlamov said "huge", which means, most likely, the size is larger than the standard wasp...

Sometimes even specialists confuse bees with wasps. Because in fact, bees are such vegetarian wasps

What is the "standard wasp size"? How does vespula work? So there are a lot of wasps and bees much larger even in our climate, what can we say about Africa.

I do not argue in any case (because I am incompetent), rather surprised.
Interestingly, I have never seen a bee larger than a vespula, well, that is, an ordinary wasp of the Central Russian strip. And even more so the bee "huge". Just for the sake of curiosity, but what is the name of such a "huge" bee, it is interesting to find and see photos.

I have no idea what this South Sudanese wasp bee is called. Or are you asking about our huge bees? Yes, at least a bumblebee Or, even more, Xylocopa valga.

The message was edited INO-14.01.2021 19: 56

Gentlemen.

You say there are no hornets in Africa?
Varlamov's new report from South Sudan, insect at the moment 2/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFDtgCZYnHc&t=173s

Varlamov called the insect "a huge black African wasp"
Isn't it a hornet? If so, which one? Velutina?

There are no hornets in Sudan.
The thing that crawled on the stucco nest was a bee, most likely some kind of Chalicodoma.
And I didn't see any live spiders there, just linden skins in the corners. Were they going to "dresirovat" them or something?
And anyway, why the fuck did these illiterate morons go to the countries without familiarizing themselves with local laws? Liberals, DB. As we have inside, so ready to pour all the shit, and once in the shit immediately yell: "Help! We are Russians!" Let them thank the consular services for getting them out of there at all. Otherwise, the locals could have put them away for several years.

The post was edited by AVA-14.01.2021 21: 02

Gentlemen.

You say there are no hornets in Africa?
Varlamov's new report from South Sudan, insect at the moment 2/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFDtgCZYnHc&t=173s

Varlamov called the insect "a huge black African wasp"
Isn't it a hornet? If so, which one? Velutina?

It's definitely not a hornet.
Bee. Reminds Megachile cognata

It's definitely not a hornet.
Bee. It resembles Megachile cognata

Do megahills make nests out of clay?

Varlamov posted a new video, now with Evmenina)
In general, his videos are terrible because of matyukov, because of this, I practically do not watch them, shame, for every matyuk he would have cryptoheilus by the scruff of the neck!