Asian hornets fighting over an apple
Asian hornets (Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836) are an invasive species from China which have recently become very abundant in Galicia in Spain – as well as elsewhere in Europe – as I described in a recent blog: Asian hornets in Galicia. They have a reputation for being aggressive, so I was interested to photograph this behaviour between two individuals fighting over a fallen apple! They start off facing each other with open jaws (above), but very quickly one of them manages to get on top of the other, who is upside down on the grass (sequence shown below).
It reminded me a bit of the sort of tussles we had at school when I was a boy! Getting on top of the other, without doing any major harm! Wrestling for dominance!
In fact there were plenty of fallen apples in this abandoned orchard, so there was really no need to squabble over this one! The loser is laying flat on his/her back (dorsal side) in the following photograph. Mandibles still open.
Eventually, the winner is left alone to feed on the apple by his/herself.
There were also lots of Red Admiral butterflies (Vanessa atalanta) around as well, trying to feed on the rotting apples. They got chased off as well! Details of this pest in Galicia are described in this Spanish blog, here.
Photographed on 26th Sept 2017, near the Sor River or Sor Mañón in the parish of Mañon, northern Galicia, Spain.
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I am an entomologist with a background in quarantine pests and invasive invertebrates. I studied zoology at Imperial College (University of London) and did a PhD on the population dynamics of a cereal aphid (Metopolophium dirhodum) in the UK. I spent 5 years with the British Antarctic Survey studing cold hardiness of Antarctic invertebates and 17 years with the Food and Environment Research Agency. My main interests now are natural history, photography, painting and bird watching.
Lovely shots Ray, I see a small number has been found in the south west and is causing concern.
AH were all around the apples in late August in the Cevennes, John Feltwell