''Vespa bicolor'', the black shield wasp, described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...

in 1787, is a species of

hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

which has been found to be the

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

of an

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, ''Dendrobium sinense'' (syn. ''

Dendrobium christyanum ''Dendrobium christyanum'' is a species of orchid (Orchidaceae) endemic to the Chinese island of Hainan. It produces a volatile organic compound that is unrecorded in other plant species. The flowers of this orchid produce a bee pheromone which ...

''), found only on the Chinese island of

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

. ''Vespa bicolor'' also preys on

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current co ...

s, which it feeds to its larvae. The orchid produces a chemical that mimics a honey bee pheromone and attracts this predatory wasp. ''Vespa bicolor'' is the most common species of large wasp in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, along with members of the genus '' Parapolybia''. It is found in a wide range of environments and can be found near human dwellings.

References

Vespidae Insects described in 1787 Hymenoptera of Asia {{Vespidae-stub