While observers can easily confuse common wasps and bees at a distance or without close observation, there are many different characteristics of large bees and wasps that can be used to identify them.
Bees (Family: Apidae) | Wasps (Family: Vespidae) | ||||||
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Name | Western honey bee | Bumblebee | Paper wasp | Yellowjacket | Bald-faced hornet | European hornet | Asian giant hornet |
Image | |||||||
Colors | Amber to brown translucent alternating with black stripes. [a] Exact pattern and colouration varies depending on strain/breed. | Yellow with black stripes, sometimes with olive, brown, orange-brown, red, [1] white, or as in Bombus pratorum, dark. [2] | Dusty yellow to dark brown or black | Black and opaque bright yellow stripes | Black and ivory white markings | Black and dark body with yellow [b] | Black and gold body with orange |
Coat | Furry (short hair) | Furry (long hair) | Little or no hair | Some hair | |||
Size | 1.3 cm (0.51 in) | 2.5 cm (0.98 in) or more | 1.9 to 2.5 cm (0.75 to 0.98 in) | 1.3 cm (0.51 in) | Up to 3.0 cm (1.2 in) | Up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) | Up to 4.0 cm (1.6 in) |
Legs | Not generally visible while flying [c] | Two thin long legs are visible hanging down during flight. There are no pollen baskets. | Legs not generally visible in flight. There are no pollen baskets. | ||||
Behavior | Gentle [d] | Gentle | Not aggressive | Aggressive | Extremely aggressive [3] [4] [5] | ||
Food | Pollen and nectar from flowers | Other insects | Other insects, overripe fruit, sugary drinks, human food and food waste, meat [e] | Other insects. | |||
Sting | Barbed. Kills bee; [f] continues pumping. | Smooth; can repeat. Retracts. | |||||
Sting Pain [6] | 2 | 2 | 1.5–3 depending on species | 2 ( Vespula pensylvanica) | 2 | 2.x [g][ citation needed] | 4.0+ [7][ failed verification] |
Lights | Not attracted to lights at night unless nest is disturbed, or light is placed near hive, or bee is sick. | Attracted to lights at night [8] [9] | |||||
Lives in | Large colonies of flat, wax-based honeycomb hanging vertically. | Small cavities in the soil or sometime above ground in dark cavities. Commonly uses small rodent nests, may use bird cavity nests. | Small umbrella-shaped papery combs hanging horizontally in protected spaces such as attics, eaves or soil cavities. | Large paper nest, upside down pear shaped, hanging from branches and eaves; also barns and attics. Some yellowjacket species nest in the ground. | Very large paper nest in hollow trees, sheltered positions. Has a brown, protective layer when the nest is in an unsheltered position. Also found in barns, attics, hollow walls and abandoned bee hives. |