Abstract
The Phenology of attacked and damage by the genus Vespa on Apis mellifera was analyzed with regard to three types of honebee colony : hived colonies whose entrances were equipped with hornet traps, hived colonies whithout artificial pretoction, and wild colonies. According to the investigation, performed in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, over a 10-year period, V. mandarinia was the dominant species, followed by V. simillima. V. mandarinia visited apiaries from mid- to late August through November every year, and mass-attacks started from their first arrival but ceased in late October. In hives with no protection and in nests of wild colonies, all colonies were exterminated by V. mandainia without exception. Since A. mellifera has no effective defensive strategy against V. mandarinia, A. mellifera colonies cannot be kept in the habitat of the hornet without artificial protection.
