Buglife says that bees and wasps aren’t that different from each other, and we should love and protect both.
People often say that wasps are bad bugs, but bees are loved and protected, making them the hero of the insect world. Yet the truth is they are not too dissimilar, and both play hugely important roles in the ecosystem.
At first glance, bees and wasps appear quite similar – they both fly around flowers and can give a painful sting. However, bees and wasps belong to different insect families with some notable distinctions in their appearance, behavior, nesting habits and ecological roles.
Understanding the key traits that set them apart will help you readily identify bees vs wasps when you encounter them in your garden or outdoors,
Appearance: Fuzzy Bees vs Sleek Wasps
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Bees have robust, hairy bodies that appear fuzzy. Their body hair collects and carries pollen.
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Wasps have slender, smooth bodies with less hair. Some wasps are nearly bald. Their thin waists give them a streamlined look.
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Bees are typically darker in color, often black and yellow Wasps display more diverse patterns like stripes, spots or metallic shades
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Stockier legs in bees. Wasps legs are long and slender.
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Bees carry pollen in hairy structures on their hind legs or abdomen. Wasps do not transport pollen.
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Bees have shorter, fatter antennae. Wasp antennae are noticeably longer and thinner.
Nesting Habits: Hive vs Paper
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Bees live together in communally-built wax honeycomb hives.
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Social wasps form large paper nests made of chewed wood pulp.
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Solitary bees and wasps nest alone in holes in the ground or wood.
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Bee hives house hundreds to thousands of individuals with a queen. Wasp nests generally have up to several hundred residents.
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Wasps build open comb nests, Bees enclose their combs in narrow wax cells
Diet and Feeding: Herbivore vs Carnivore
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Bees only eat nectar and pollen from flowers. They are herbivores/vegetarians.
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Wasps are carnivores and consume other insects, spiders and even meat from carcasses.
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Bees provision nests with pollen/nectar balls to feed larvae. Wasps stock nests with paralyzed insects for their young to eat.
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Adult wasps get energy from foraging on flower nectar. Bees never eat other insects.
Stingers: Barbed vs Smooth
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A bee’s stinger has barbs that catch in skin and rip the stinger and venom sac out when the bee tries to fly away. This causes the bee to die.
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Wasps have smooth stingers without barbs. They can sting repeatedly without injury to themselves.
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Honey bees and bumblebees are the only bees with barbed stingers. Other solitary bees have smooth stingers like wasps.
Benefits to Humans: Pollination vs Pest Control
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Bees are extremely valuable pollinators of flowers, fruits and crops. Their hairy bodies transport pollen between blossoms.
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Wasps control garden and agricultural pests like caterpillars, beetles, flies, crickets and grasshoppers by hunting, killing and feeding them to their larvae.
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Bees produce honey, beeswax and other useful hive products. Wasps do not make honey.
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Some wasps are pollinators, but not to the extent of bees. Bees specialize in gathering pollen.
Now you know how to tell a bee from a wasp! Next time one visits your flower garden, look for these distinguishing traits. Appreciate the special ecological contributions of both bees and wasps.
Bee vs wasp: which has the deadliest sting?
Neither male bees nor wasps can sting. It is only the females of each species that can sting, and even then, not all species can handle it.
It is generally understood that most bees can only sting once, whereas a wasp can sting multiple times. However, this is not strictly true as it depends on the design of their sting.
For example, a bee with a barbed sting will probably only sting once and then die. A bee with a smooth sting, on the other hand, can get away with its sting still in place and sting again. The common wasp has a smooth sting, which doesn’t get caught, allowing them to sting more than once.
Bees vs wasp: diet
Animals that are mostly vegetarian, bees eat nectar and pollen that they get from flowers or steal from other bees, especially in the UK. Wasps, on the other hand, eat both plants and animals. They get their sugars and nectar from rotting fruit, but they also hunt other bugs and spiders.
People with sharp eyes will have noticed that I said wasps hunt spiders and other insects and bees mostly eat nectar and pollen.
Honeybees have been seen eating each other to protect their nests from threats like workers who have gone rogue and are laying eggs, or when there isn’t enough pollen and to keep the number of bees that are raising brood in check. Bumblebees have also been observed feeding on the carcasses of dead animals. Besides that, there is a small group of bees in South America called vulture or carrion bees that eat dead meat.
In contrast, adult wasps, both social and solitary, only feed on sugars. These sugars can come from flower nectar, aphid honeydew, or wasp larvae, which make a sugary liquid that the adult wasp-like creature eats. Adult wasps don’t actually eat the prey they capture and kill, they feed it to their young.
What is the Difference Between Bees, Wasps, and Hornets?
FAQ
How do you tell if it’s a wasp or bee?
What is more aggressive, bees or wasps?
Do bees sting or just wasps?
Are Yellow Jackets bees or wasps?
What is the difference between a bee and a wasp?
The biggest difference right off the bat is size. Bees are about a half-inch in length, while wasps are 3/4 inches in length. There are several unique markers to distinguish the two insects which are both of the order Hymenoptera. Both bees and wasps are brightly colored and may even have similar colors such as black with yellow.
What is the difference between a wasp and a hornet?
Bees are vegetarians, collecting pollen to feed their young, while wasps and hornets are carnivores, feeding on other insects. The main thing they have in common is that only females can sting. What’s the Difference Between Wasps, Bees, and Hornets? All hornets are wasps, but not all wasps are hornets. In the U.S., we have no native hornets.
How do you know if a wasp is a bee?
But if you were, you’d notice some key characteristics to help you identify it. While bees have robust, hairy bodies with flat rear legs, wasps’ bodies are slender with a narrow waist connecting the thorax and abdomen. (The thorax and abdomen are the names given to an insect’s mid and rear segments.)
Are honey bees smaller than wasps?
Honey bees and other bees are much smaller than wasps. This is one of the key differences between the two, though it depends on the species. Bees will have shorter legs that are tucked in when flying, while wasps allow their legs to hang down. A honey bee may only be around 15 millimetres long, though other species may be longer or shorter.
Is a wasp a bee or ant?
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor ant . Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it. Social or Solitary? Can be social or solitary, depending on the species. Bees live in geometric wax hives.
Are wasps and bees related?
Both wasps and bees are closely related, and they come from the same family. This group of insects is called the Hymenoptera family. Within Hymenoptera, there are many species of bees, wasps, ants, sawflies, and hornets. Hymenoptera is derived from the Greek word for “hymen” which means “membrane,” and pteron, which translates to “wing.”