Hornets (Vespidae: Vespinae) of Singapore: ecology, identification, and national conservation assessment.

Hornets (Vespidae: Vespinae) recorded from Singapore comprise five visually conspicuous species. Three of the four Vespa species, V. affinis (Linnaeus), V. analis Fabricius, and V. tropica (Linnaeus), occur frequently across multiple habitat types, whereas the forest-associated V. multimaculata Pérez is known only from historical records. Also from Singapore, a species of night hornet, Provespa anomala (de Saussure), is associated with forests and is often attracted to artificial light sources. We review these five hornet species, summarising their global and local distribution and natural history, including their habitat preferences, prey, and floral associations. We also assess their conservation status in Singapore based on historical collections and recent surveys. Lack of records of V. multimaculata within the last 90 years despite targeted sampling efforts in remnant forest habitats indicate that this species is likely locally extinct. We present diagnoses, simple keys, and images of all taxa to facilitate the conservation, management, and monitoring of these ecologically and medically significant insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]