The mitochondrial genome of a social wasp, Vespa simillima simillima (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

We analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome of a social wasp, Vespa simillima simillima from South Korea prior to a systematic study on Korean Vespidae. The mitogenome is 16,740 bp in length, includes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs, and a 228 bp short A + T-rich region. The overall base composition is 82.0% AT and 18.0% GC. The maximum-likelihood analysis suggested that V. s. simillima is closely related to V. bicolor, another species of Vespidae.