Distribution: Russia: SE part of the Amur Province, Southern Primorye. Korea, Japan, China, Indochina, India, Nepal (Kurzenko, 1995). Additional information on the site of Prof. J.Kojima.

Localities from collections of SZMN and ZIN: Russia: Amur Province: Kundur; Jewish Province: Bastak Nature Reserve; Khabarovsk province: Khabarovsk vic.; Primorskii Krai: Shmakovka (now - Gornye Klyuchi, ZIN collection), Odarka river (8 km NE from Spassk, ZIN collection), Chernigovka (ZIN collection), 20 km N from Chernyshevka, Suputinka river (now - Komarovka, Ussuriisk District, ZIN collection), Tigrovoi (ZIN collection).

Note: Dr. N.V.Kurzenko (1995) consider Vespa ducalis Smith, 1852 to be conspecific with Vespa tropica Linnaeus, 1758. These species were separated by M.Archer (1991).

References
Archer, M. 1991. Taxonomy and bionomics of the Vespa tropica group (Hym., Vespidae. - Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 127: 225-232.
Dubatolov, V.V. 2011. Social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae: Polistinae, Vespinae) of the Bastak Nature Reserve (Jewish Autonomous Province, Amur basin). - Amurian Zoological Journal 3 (1).
Dubatolov, V.V., Dolgikh A.M. 2009. Social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae: Polistinae, Vespinae) of the Bolshekhekhtsyrskii nature reserve (the Khabarovsk suburbs), with notes on their distribution in the Lower Amur. - Amurian zoological journal 1 (1): 76-82.
Kurzenko, N.V. 1995. [Fam. Vespidae]. In: [A key to insects from the Far East of Russia]. Vol. 4. Neuropteroidea, Mecoptera, Hymenoptera. Part 1. - St-Petersburg: 264-324. (In Russian).
Malikova, E.I., Redko, Yu.S., Streltzov, A.N. 2007. [New data on social wasps (Vespidae) and bees (Apidae) from Bastak Nature Reserve]. - Priroda zapovednika “Bastak” [Nature of Bastak Nature Reserve]. Blagoveshchensk 4: P. 55-57. (In Russian).