Vespa tropica, the Greater Banded Hornet, is a tropical species of hornet found in Southeast Asia, and commonly found in west Africa, from Afghanistan to New Guinea. It is medium in size; the worker's length is of about 25 mm. The head is dark brown/red; the abdomen is black with a large yellow stripe. Predation by V. tropica is one of the foremost causes of colony failure in P. chinensis in Japan. V. tropica may play a significant role in controlling Asian polistene populations.