Claim: The Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis, Linnaeus, 1761) is a social insect of the family Vespidae that is found in Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa, the island of Madagascar, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Southern Europe.
Evidence: The Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) is a social insect of the family Vespidae. It can be found in Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa, the island of Madagascar (but no reports have been made of its presence on the island for many years), the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Southern Europe. The Swedish King Adolf Frederick granted Linnaeus nobility in 1757, but he was not ennobled until 1761. Many of his writings were in Latin, and his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus (after 1761 Carolus a Linné). Carl Linnaeus (/lɪˈniːəs, lɪˈneɪəs/; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkɑːɭ fɔn lɪˈneː (listen)), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms.