Cross-reactivity of Vespa venoms:
Vespa crabro venom is largely identical to Vespula andDolichovespula venom with SIs between their PLAs1 and antigens 5 being 70-75%. Cross-reactivity between Vespa crabro andVespula is well documented and known to be clinically relevant.55-58
The antigens 5 from the invasive Asian hornet (Vespa velutina ), the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia/magnifica ) andVespa affinis are nearly identical to Vespa crabro Vesp c 5 (SI 90-95%) and share 65-70% SI with Ves v 5. Hornet PLAs1 share 65-70% SI with each other. Recently two new allergens (dipeptidyl peptidase IV and serin protease) have been identified in the VVvenom.59
Due to the high similarity between all hornet venoms, cross-reactivity of (sub)tropical Vespa species with Vespula may be expected to be comparable to that of Vespa crabro .