Bees & Wasps Facts

Bees and wasps are sometimes confused, but they are two different types of insects.

Bees and wasps belong to the insect family Hymenoptera with yellow jackets and other stinging insects. Bees are thought to have evolved from a species of predatory wasp known as apoid wasps. It's one reason bees and wasps share many characteristics, but they are also different in many ways.

Appearance

Wasps often have longer, more segmented bodies than bees.

Bees are covered with fine, bristle-like hairs. This hair is a key factor in the bee's ability to pollinate because the plant pollen sticks to the hairs and is released as the bees fly to other plants to feed. Wasps have much less hair on their bodies. In general, wasps tend to have longer, thinner bodies than bees and appear to have a “pinched” waist. Wasps bodies often appear segmented while bees are more compact.

Colonies

Many bees and wasps live in colonies.

Most bees and wasps live in groups called colonies. Most colonies have only one or two reproducing females called “queens.” The only job the queen has is to produce the next generation of insects. Many bee and wasp colonies also have workers whose tasks include gathering food, feeding the queen’s larvae, building the hive or nest, and performing other tasks. In most situations, the males usually mate with the queen and die. Some bee colonies can last for years, while most wasp colonies die off during winter and new ones begin in warmer weather.

Diet

Bees gather pollen and nectar while wasps are predatory insects.

Bees gather nectar and pollen from flowering plants. Each bee species has specific plants that they prefer to feed on. In contrast, some species of wasps feed on tree sap or plant nectar, but most are hunters that prey on other insects such as caterpillars, flies, bees, and ants. Both are often seen around flowering plants. The bees are looking for pollen and nectar while wasps are looking for insects that feed on pollen and nectar, including bees.

Stings

Bees and wasps both have stingers on their lower abdomens.

Bees and wasps will both sting, but with different methods and different types of venom. Wasps drive their stinger, located on the end of their abdomen, into their target and then use a back and forth “sawing” motion. Poison is released from a sac-like structure in their abdomen and injected into the target. The bee stinger is also at the end of its abdomen, but it contain large barbs that the bee can't remove from the target. So while wasps can sting their target and remove their stinger easily (due to smaller barbs), bees die soon after stinging something. Only the female of each insect has a stinger.

Benefits

Bees are important natural pollinators, while wasps help control the pest insect population.

Bees are pollinators, meaning they pollinate different plant species. Some species of bee, such as the honeybee, provide humans with usable materials such as beeswax and honey. Many kinds of wasps feed on other insects and help control the insect pest population. If pest insects were not eaten by wasps and other pest controllers, they could overpopulate and destroy many kinds of plants including crops.

References

• Greensmith’s: Bees and Wasps
• National Geographic: Honeybee
• National Geographic: Hornet
• Urban Bee Gardens: Bees Vs. Wasps
• Urban Bee Gardens: Wasps vs. Bees

Resources

• Insect Identification: Beed and Wasps