How To Tell A Wasp From A Bee

How To Tell A Wasp From A Bee

Lots of people have trouble telling bees from wasps because their bodies are extremely similar and both are stinging insects. They are a threat whenever they happen to be in the same area. Here’s a guide for identifying bees and wasps so you can make sure you’re not dealing with bees or wasps every time you see one buzzing around.

A bee is a member of the order Hymenoptera and the suborder Apocrita (meaning “away-biter”). bees that have been given the Latin name Apis mellifera serve as models of social behavior because their societies are relatively simple to describe. Wasp means a creature of the order Hymenoptera and the suborder Aculeata (meaning “stinging”) that has an elongated body, narrow wings, and modified antennae with which it delivers painful stings. The most common wasp species are parasitic, but most are harmless to humans. Many wasps pollinate flowers and are vital to ecosystem health. Unlike bees, most wasps do not form colonies but instead lay their eggs in individual locations. That’s about it for our lesson on how to tell a bee from a wasp.

How To Tell A Wasp From A Bee

Bees and wasps are both members of the insect order Hymenoptera, and they’re both in the same superfamily, Apoidea. Both bees and wasps can sting, but they have different social structures—bees are eusocial, while wasps are solitary—and they differ in other ways as well.

If you’re trying to tell a bee from a wasp, look for these features:

Bees have two pairs of wings; wasps have one pair (the second pair is reduced). Bees have hairy bodies; wasps have smooth abdomens. Bees tend to be larger than wasps; the largest species of bee is about 5mm long, while some wasp species can reach nearly 25mm! Bees’ mouthparts are modified into a straw-like structure called a proboscis; wasps’ mouthparts aren’t modified for sucking up nectar. Bees collect pollen on their bodies as food for their young; wasps don’t do this.

Bees are sweet, gentle creatures. They buzz around your garden, helping you grow healthy, delicious fruit. If you encounter a bee, it’s probably on your side.

But wasps? Well, they’re not so nice. Wasps eat your fruit and make it all gross. And they can sting you if they feel like it—which is pretty much all the time. So when you see a wasp in your garden, be sure to get rid of it ASAP!

– Bees are fuzzy, and wasps are smooth.

– Bees have a barbed stinger, while wasps have a smooth stinger.

– Bee abdomens are blunt at the end, while wasp abdomens are pointed.

Bees and wasps are both insects, but they have different body structures and behaviors. The main difference between bees and wasps is that bees have hairy bodies and build hives, while wasps do not.

Other differences include:

– Bees have two pairs of wings, while wasps have four pairs of wings.

– Bees are typically larger than wasps.

How To Tell A Wasp From A Bee

Wasp stings although not pleasant can be as mild as a small swelling, with the pain subsiding after a few hours. However they can also be really dangerous, causing people to go into Anaphylaxis. For this reason we would advise that you always get a professional pest controller in to get rid of a wasps nest unless it is in the very early stages.

As for bees nests we would never recommend disposing of the hive as they are an endangered species that our country needs for its pollination services, unless they are causing a health and safety hazard. If this is the case we would advise getting in the local bee keepers as they will be able to move them to another location

The question still stands though, how do we tell the difference between a bee and wasp?

Bees and Wasps Identification: How to identify a wasp:

Wasp.jpg

1) Look at its body.

Wasps will have a ‘waist’, where their body joins. They are also thinner and have longer bodies and legs than bees.

2) Check the colour

When we think of wasps and bees, we automatically think of black and yellow colouring. However, the bright yellow stripes are more obvious on a wasp, than a bee. So, if it looks bright yellow, it’s most likely to be wasp.

3) Look at its behaviour

Wasps tend to be more aggressive by nature. And although they won’t go out of their way to sting you, they do tend to hover around humans. Wasps will also be attracted to rubbish or human food, so if you feel like your picnic is under attack, it’s most likely to be a wasp that you’re facing!

4) Identify the nest

Wasps tend to have paper like nests, with distinctive grooves on them. They are made from chewed wood pulp that they gather during the early part of the year. A wasp nest is small in size at the start (golf ball sized); but can quite quickly grow to larger than a football. They are usually located somewhere sheltered near a source of wood; roof spaces, sheds and roof eaves are frequently used. To find a wasps nest just follow where they are coming from, they tend to move in fairly direct flight patterns once they’ve found a food source.

Different types of wasps

Hornet.jpg

It’s said that in the UK we have 9 main kinds of wasps. However, the most common wasps we will see is the ‘yellow jacket’ or the ‘hornets.’ Hornets tend to be bigger than yellow jackets and can look quite frightening. Hornets are also more aggressive than regular wasps. Both wasps however are likely to sting if they feel threatened, so it’s important to stay calm around them and either guide them out the house or move away from them when possible.

Bees and Wasps Identification: How to Identify Bees

Bee.jpg

1) Look at the body

Bee’s tend to be rounder in shape than wasps, with thick middles. Bumblebees in particular are large and round.

However not all bees are completely round so make sure you look at their middles to see whether or not they have that distinctive ‘waist’ that wasps have when trying to identify them.

In addition the most noticeable feature of bees is that they are hairy, where wasps are not.

2) The colour

Although we’ve been drawing bee’s as little yellow and black blobs since we were tiny, bees aren’t actually yellow. Bee’s tend to be more orange/brown in colour and their individual stripes stand out less than those of a wasp.

3) Observe the behaviour

Bee’s tend to be passive insects, they get on with their own jobs, never really bothering humans unless they feel threatened. You will also almost always find bee’s around flowers and bushes, rather than around human food. So, when it’s bee’s around you know not to worry, your ice cream is safe!

4) Their Nest

You will usually find Bee nests in cavities such as tree hollows, roof spaces and even underground. Due to their honey making capabilities, their nests are made of hexagonal cells made of bee wax, called a honeycomb. You may even find a couple of dead bees at the entranceway, as the worker bees push out the dead or weak ones to make room in the hive.

Different types of Bee

Bee types.jpg

In the UK we have 250 different kinds of bees, however there are a few key kinds that we see more than others. The main groups of bees’ you will see are the Bumblebee’s, the Honeybees, the Mason bees, and the Mining Bees. These different kinds of bee’s in general are all harmless unless threatened.

Bumblebees are social insects and with 24 species of bumble bees in the UK alone, it’s not surprising that we tend to see these around our parks and flower beds. They tend to be distinguished by their shape as they are round and fuzzy. Some may have white, red or orange tails but these are all just indicators of the kind of bumblebee they are.

Honey bees are a slim bee, sand coloured with golden amber bands. Today, however it is rarer to see wild honey bees as they tend to live in domestic hives, looked after by bee keepers.

Mason Bees are another kind of popular bee and you’ll tend to find them buzzing around brick walls. They stand out as they have long hair and boxy heads. Mason bee’s actually don’t have the capability to sting so in fact are totally harmless.

Mining Bees are a solitary species that nests in the ground, and they aren’t seen as often. However, you can find them in parks, gardens and near bare earth. They can range in size, but you can usually distinguish them by their colour. Mining bees tend to either have bright ginger bodies or be completely ashy.

Although all the bees have different roles, they all have the same passive nature. Bee’s won’t harm you, if you don’t harm them.

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