Bald-faced hornet from mid-April to early October, and reproductives were produced from mid-July through the end of November. Onset of male output usually precedes that of queen output in social wasps, however here "D. maculata" is an exception to this trend. Energy investment by workers required to produce reproductives is considerable. Newly emerged males and queens are no more functional than pupae; both depend heavily on solid prey brought in by workers, thus competing with larvae for food resources. As a result, worker quantity must remain high in order to maintain reproductive output. Workers must maintain food stores and defend the nest,
Japanese giant hornet Japanese giant hornet The Japanese giant hornet ("Vespa mandarinia japonica") is a subspecies of the world's largest hornet, the Asian giant hornet ("V. mandarinia"). It is a large insect, with adults frequently growing to greater than long, with a wingspan greater than . It has a large yellow head with large eyes, and a dark brown thorax with an abdomen banded in brown and yellow. The Japanese giant hornet has three small, simple eyes on the top of the head between the two large compound eyes. As the name implies, it is endemic to the Japanese islands, where it prefers