Summer is in full swing, and with it comes longer sunny days and blooming buzzing gardens! If you have flowers or certain types of plants in your garden, it might be a real bee and wasp breeding ground. Now, when you think about bees or wasps, you might be associating them with being stung. But there is much more to these wonderful little creatures than their stinging power.
In fact, without these pollinators, we’d live in a very different world. Protecting them is critical, and that’s why they’ve been making headlines over the last few years. So, to help you better understand bees and wasps, we’ve put together this short guide for you.
We’ll first highlight the difference between bees and wasps before sharing tips on distinguishing them.
What’s The Difference Between Bees And Wasps?
Bees, wasps, and hornets are part of a large order of insects called Hymenoptera, which entails a wide range of sawflies, bees, wasps, hornets, and ants. Bees usually appear soft and hairy and have two pairs of wings. Their body is typically thicker around the abdomen, looking more round than wasps’ bodies. Wasps’ thorax and abdomen are cylindrical.
Bees’ legs are also thicker than wasps’ legs, and female bees even have pollen baskets located on the outside of the hind legs to collect pollen. Their midleg contain a brush made of hair used to brush off dirt or pollen from their forelegs and faces.
Another major difference between bees and wasps is the fact that bees exclusively feed on nectar and pollen, whereas wasps also feed on pollen, but mainly prey on other insects such as caterpillars, flies, and even honeybees! Bees and wasps also live in different hives. Bees can produce wax that they use to make their hives. Wasps don’t produce wax and use mud to build their nests.
Bees play an important role in the ecosystem because they act as pollinators. So much so that they pollinate up to 80% of the crop varieties that provide the world’s food supply! While wasps can still be considered pollinators, that is not their strong suit. They support our ecosystem by controlling crop pests, including aphids and whiteflies.
But how does the pollination process work exactly?
When they collect nectar and pollen from flowers, the pollen from the reproductive organ of flowers sticks to their hair. As they fly from flower to flower, they leave some of this pollen on the female reproductive organ of each flower, leading to fertilization.
What Are The Different Types Of Bees And Wasps In North America?
With over 4,000 known bee species and 18,000 wasp species in North America, we could spend weeks discussing the different types.
So, to help you distinguish the different types of bees or wasps that might be buzzing in your garden, we’ve listed below some of the main types of bees and wasps you’ll encounter if you live in the US.
Bees
Western Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
While bees are famous for producing honey, out of the 20,000 bee species in the world, the honeybee is the only one that produces honey. Honeybees were introduced to America in the 17th century from Europe to pollinate US crops such as fruits or nuts. Also, one of the most notable differences between honeybees and other bees is that some of them will die after stinging a mammal, including humans. That’s because as they try to pull out the stinger from a mammal’s thick skin, their lower abdomen ruptures causing them to die. However, you should not that these bees, like most are not aggressive and will only sting is provoked.
Bumblebees (Genus: Bombus)
According to the U.S Forest Service, there are 49 species of bumblebees in the US. Famous for their loud buzzing, bumblebees are larger than honeybees and are covered in dense yellow and black hair.
Carpenter Bees (Genus: Xylocopa)
Carpenter bees look very similar to bumblebees except that they have a shiny and hairless abdomen. They’re also bigger than bumblebees. Another major difference with the bumblebee is that carpenter bees tend to tunnel into wood to lay their eggs, whereas bumblebees burrow into existing cavities underground.
Blueberry Bees (Habropoda Laboriosa, Southeastern Blueberry Bee)
Blueberry bees resemble bumblebees, but they’re smaller and faster.
As their name suggests, blueberry bees are excellent pollinators for blueberries, but they also pollinate other plants. They nest in the ground, often near blueberry plants.
Sweat Bees (Various Genera)
Sweat bees are typically a quarter of the size of honeybees and are attracted to smaller flowers due to their size. Theis color spans from black to metallic blues and greens. Some of them even feature stripes on their abdomen. They’ve earned their name due to the fact that they’re attracted to human perspiration.
Wasps
Black Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus)
Black wasps (also referred to as great black wasps) can be found across North America and can measure up to one and a half inches. The insect features smoky wings, and its sting can be very painful!
Paper Wasps (Family: Vespidae)
There are 22 species of paper wasps in the US. Paper wasps are often found in door frames, eaves, or window sills, where they like to build their nests. Just like any other wasp, if they feel like their nests are being threatened, they will aggressively defend it. And their sting is very painful. Paper wasps have a slender brown body with a narrow waist and yellow markings or red stripes, depending on the species. They also have black wings.
Mud Daubers (Trypoxylon politum)
Mud dauber or mud wasp gets their name from their nests constructed out of mud. As you would image you can find them flying around wet muddy area. They a usually black with pale yellow legs. They are very long, measuring from 1/2 inch to 1 inch long with a slender segment between the thorax and abdomen.
Yellow Jackets (Genus: Vespula or Dolichovespula)
Yellow Jackets resemble honeybees, but they have a few notable differences. For instance, unlike honeybees, they are hairless, have a thin waist, and don’t have pollen baskets on their hind legs. Also, they typically have shinier and brighter yellow markings than honeybees. These carnivorous insects can sting multiple times in succession and are quite aggressive in protecting their nests.
Hornets (Family: Vespidae)
Hornets are a type of wasp. However, unlike other wasps, their body doesn’t feature a narrow waist. It’s also thicker and big enough that they’re stinger is visible! They often build their nests high in trees.
And that’s a wrap!
We hope this article provided some useful information to help you recognize the type of insects that might be buzzing in your garden. Remember to stayed tuned if you want to learn more about pollinators or need any gardening advice. We’d love to help!
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