‘Northern Giant Hornet’ Adopted as Common Name for Vespa mandarinia

Annapolis, MD; July 25, 2022—The Entomological Society of America has adopted "northern giant hornet" for the species Vespa mandarinia in its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List. Vespa mandarinia is an invasive hornet native to Asia that has been the target of eradication efforts in Washington state, USA, and British Columbia, Canada, after individual hornets were first discovered there in 2019. It has been referred to elsewhere as "Asian giant hornet" or "murder hornet."

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Common Names of Insects Database

The ESA Common Names database is an essential reference for anyone who works with insects. It includes more than 2,000 common names and is searchable by common name, scientific name, author, order, family, genus, and species.

Better Common Names Project

The Entomological Society of America's Better Common Names Project aims to ensure that insect common names are respectful, inclusive, and accurately descriptive.

Proposed Common Names

Proposed common names that are approved by the Common Names Committee will be posted here for at least 30 days. There are currently no common names that are open for comment.

 

 

Use & Submission of Common Names

Introduction

In zoology, the formation of a scientific name for an organism follows a strict set of rules adopted by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. This International Code of Zoological Nomenclature serves to promote the stability, accuracy, and universality of an organism's scientific name. Every proposed scientific name must be unique and distinct from all other names. In this way, every named organism is a distinguishable entity. However, scientific names are not always stable.