Zoanthus, a zoanthid. Beginner to keep, typical PAR 75–150, moderate flow.
Also sold as Purple Hornets, Purple Hornet Zoanthids, OG Purple Hornet.
A loose trade name. Sellers use it loosely, so trust the photo over the label.
Collector tier: uncommon, reviewed 2026-08.
A plump zoa with a deep purple face and a clean gold ring around the mouth, so the disc reads as a purple and gold bullseye. The skirt alternates purple and yellow like the stripes on the insect, which is where the hornet name began.
The original hornet, one of a trio with the Red and the Blue, and the clean ring around the mouth is what it passed on to the rest. A Blue Hornet has a pale blue to white centre and a blue and green skirt; a Purple Hornet has no white centre. A Rainbow Hornet also has a purple face and a yellow ring, but an orange skirt on thinner, flatter polyps. Sold widely under the name, with OG marking the line collectors doubt is still around; one shop even titles its Purple Hornet page Blue Hornets.
Low to middle rock, enough flow to keep detritus off the mat. Purple Hornet is beginner to keep at a typical PAR of 75–150 in moderate flow. A typical starting range for this type of coral, not measured on this one.
No verified sales yet. A range publishes once 3 dated, checkable records from 3 different sources exist, priced per polyp and reported as a median, with what shops ask kept separate from what buyers paid. One polyp, so a ten-polyp frag is divided by ten. Listings that do not state the count are dropped rather than assumed. Nothing on this page is for sale.