Bees, Wasps and Hornets
Although honey bees serve a significant role in pollination and ecology, some species are known to swarm and attack humans and animals. Measures should be taken to ensure that hives do not exist in close proximity to your home.
Honey bee facts:
Three types of adult honey bees reside in one colony:
- The Queen: The queen honey bees mate with drones, establish new colonies and lay eggs. Each colony contains only one queen, who is capable of producing 2,000 eggs a day.
- Male Drones: Drones, or male bees, are the minority in a colony and serve only one purpose: to mate with virgin honey bee queens. Soon after mating, drones die.
- Infertile female workers: Infertile female workers usually do not produce their own eggs nor establish new colonies, they perform several important tasks. Young honey bee workers tend to larvae by secreting liquid from their abdominal glands. As workers mature, they become responsible for carrying and storing food gathered by foragers. As strong adults, they forage for food until they die.
Wasp
- Wasp species are categorized as social or solitary. As their name implies, social wasps live in colonies, which may number in the thousands. Within these colonies, female workers perform all other duties within the nest.
- Solitary wasps live alone and rarely build nests. They do lay eggs, but their eggs are left alone to hatch.
Found globally, bees are winged insects of the super-family Apoidea, order Hymenoptera. There are more than 20,000 recorded bee species. Chalicodoma Pluto, the largest of these creatures, is reported to be 1.6 inches long, while Perdita Minima, the most diminutive of bees, are only 0.07 inches long.
Bees can be black or brown with red, yellow or lustrous blue stripes. Some bees are notable for their ability to collect substantial amounts of honey. All bees are hairy, a trait which is crucial to the collection of pollen. Flowers and flourishing vegetation usually indicate the presence of bees: there is no insect as important as the bee when it comes to pollination.
Many female bee species have rows of bristles on their hind legs which form a hollow basket. When the bee lands on a flower, pollen grains are combed into the hollow basket and bristles. Cross-pollination occurs when the displaced grains of pollen are distributed to the fertile pistils of other flowers as the bee alights upon them.
Although only females are able to transfer pollen, all bees are able to sip the nectar from flowers using a tongue-like organ. This nectar is their primary source of energy. Pollen is sustenance for both adult and larval bees, as it contains protein and other nutrients necessary to their survival. Bees possess an organ that converts nectar into honey, which is collected depending on the species inside the hive, or bee colony.
While some bees are insular and solitary, species such as honey bees and bumblebees are tremendously social. Bee colonies are comprised of three castes: the queen bee, infertile female worker bees, and male drones. The queen mates and lays eggs for the span of her life. Queens can live up to five years, though most average a lifespan of two to three years. Male drones exist solely to fertilize the queen and die soon after having fulfilled their task. Female worker bees perform a multitude of tasks necessary to the survival of the hive. As a result of their constant laboring, their average life span is usually a mere six weeks.
Common Bees, Wasps & Hornets
Bees
Although one of the most popular bees, represent only a small percent of bee species. Honey bees are the only surviving group of bees from the Apini tribe, which is under the Apis genus. They are known for producing and storing honey, or liquefied sugar, as well as building impressively large nests using wax secreted by workers in a particular colony. Honey bees measure about 15 millimeters long and are light brown in color.
Like other bee species, honey bees are social and live in colonies of thousands. Queen bees lay eggs in the cells of the nest, and when they hatch, they become larvae. Adult workers tend these larvae inside the cells and feed them with pollen and honey for approximately three weeks, at which point they become adults. Mature bees chew themselves out of the sealed cells to emerge.
In each colony, there is only one egg-laying queen, but there are thousands of workers. Unlike other species, only the queen honey bee seeks shelter during the winter. Her workers can slowly starve to death inside their nests. If her colony dies, the queen looks for a new nesting site and uses new materials to establish her colony.
Honey bees originated in Southeast Asia, but have spread worldwide and can be seen in many different locations, including Europe and the United States. They are most visible in summer and late spring, when new queens leave their old colonies along with thousands of workers in order to build new nests. At this time, large groups of bees can be seen swarming together to find a new nesting place. It takes a swarm approximately 24 hours to locate a new nesting site. While most swarms are harmless, certain species of bees are extremely aggressive and may attack unprovoked.
Carpenter Bee
Carpenter bees get their name from their habit of making holes in wood. There are several species of carpenter bees in the United States. One of the most common species is Xylocopa Vrginica (L). This is probably also the most destructive carpenter bee. Its range extends from Kansas to Texas and eastward to the Atlantic.
Carpenter bees are fairly large, ½” to 1” in length. They resemble bumblebees except their abdomen is smooth and hairless. Male carpenter bees are very aggressive, but they have no stinger. Females have a potent stinger, but seldom sting.
Female carpenter bees make holes in wood in order to deposit their eggs. They make their galleries in almost any wooden object they find. They attack decks, siding, landscape timbers, and even lawn furniture. They seem to prefer unpainted wood, but they will also attack painted or stained wood.
The female carpenter bee makes a hole in the wood about the same size as her body. When the hole is about an inch deep, she turns and begins to burrow along the grain. A new gallery may be 6” long. Older galleries that have been re-used may extend several feet. It takes a female several days to make a 6” gallery. The sawdust and wood shavings on the ground are often a clue that carpenter bees are active.
The female carpenter bee puts some pollen and other food in the gallery, and then deposits an egg. She seals the compartment with chewed wood pulp and then repeats the process. When she has finished, the gallery will have several compartments with an egg in each one. Depending on the species and the climate, the eggs develop into adult bees in 36 to 90 days.
Carpenter bees are not social insects. Each female lays her own eggs. However, several females may attack the same piece of wood. In many cases, they even share a gallery. Over time, carpenter bees can cause significant damage.
Carpenter bee control involves treating each hole. Dust insecticide can be effective since it will not soak into the wood. Be sure to follow label directions. After the holes are treated, leave them alone. This will allow the bees to crawl through the treatment. In the fall, it should be all right to seal the holes and make any repairs that are needed.
Other Types of Bees
Western Honey Bee
European Honey Bee
Japanese Honey Bee
Hawaiian Honeybee
Wasps, Hornets and Yellow Jackets
Wasp
Wasp species are categorized as social or solitary. As their name implies, social wasps live in colonies, which may number in the thousands. Within these colonies, female workers, perform all other duties within the nest. Solitary wasps live alone and rarely build nests. They do lay eggs, but their eggs are left alone to hatch.
Some wasps are predatory, while others are parasitic. Predatory wasps serve an important role in pollination. Parasitic wasps typically assist in the management of other pests. Some wasps are aggressive species, which sting when threatened, and, unlike bees, wasps are capable of stinging multiple times.
Male wasps fertilize female wasps that develop late in the summer. These will be next year's queens. These fertilized females will spend winter in a sheltered location. The rest of the colony will perish when winter comes. Next spring, the queen will start laying eggs. The fertilized eggs that they produce will become workers, building the nest and feeding the larvae produced by the queen. Late in the summer, the queen will produce unfertilized eggs. These will develop into males. The males will fertilize the wasps that will become the queens of the following year.
In North America alone, there are over 22 species of paper wasps. Worldwide, there are over 1,000 species, dispersed throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. These wasps measure approximately one inch in length. Their narrow bodies are most commonly dark brown in color, with black wings and yellow markings. Australian paper wasps are made distinguishable by their black and reddish-brown coloration. They appear similar to yellow jackets.
These insects are called paper wasps due to the construction of their nests. Paper wasp nests are made from small wood or plant fibers combined with saliva and appear to be made from paper. Their nests include numerous compartments within which wasps lay their eggs and rear their young. These nests are frequently found in sheltered areas, such as tree branches and the eaves of houses.
A female wasp first establishes nests. Each nest is comprised of compartments, which house wasp eggs until they mature into adults. Paper wasps feed on nectar and pollen, although they also scavenge for caterpillars with which to nourish their colonies' larvae. As larvae develop into adults, they assist in expanding the nest and nurturing future generations.
Paper wasps are considered beneficial because they assist in pollination by feeding on nectar, and they control pest insect populations by feeding insects to their larvae. However, despite their ecological benefits, paper wasp nests should not be permitted to develop in or near the home. Stings from paper wasps are extremely painful and may produce allergic reactions.
Removing a paper wasp nest may be dangerous. It is advised that a pest control professional be contacted to assist in treatment of paper wasp infestations.
Hornet
Hornet nests are composed of a paper substance derived from saliva and wood pulp. They are located within or atop trees, in attic rafters and in other covered areas. They can sometimes be found near the eaves of houses.
Queen hornets begin the construction of hornet nests in order to house their eggs. The queen lays one egg within a cell and builds her way out, constructing a comb. Nests are built tier after tier. The eggs hatch into larvae. The larvae develop into sterile adult females. These female workers then assume the responsibilities of nest building and brood tending, while the queen's sole duty is to lay the eggs from which future generations are born in late summer, the queen will begin to produce male hornets, whose only purpose is to mate with queens. These fertilized females seek hiding places for the winter.
The size of a hornet nest grows in proportion to the size of the colony. Nests may grow to be as large as basketballs through subsequent generations of workers. However, nests are only used once; worker populations perish in winter, leaving only the fertilized females to begin new colonies in the coming warm seasons.
All hornet nests can be extremely dangerous to handle. Contact a pest control professional to remove any nest located near your home.
The bald-faced hornet belongs to the genus Vespula.
Bald-faced hornets are more closely related to yellow jackets than they are to hornets. The body of the bald-faced hornet is black in color and their faces are marked with white. Bald-faced hornets are larger than most wasps.
The nest of the bald-faced hornet can be found hanging from trees, bushes and buildings. A colony begins in spring, when a queen lays a single egg inside each cell as she begins to build her nest. She puts insects and nectar into the cell with the egg. These eggs hatch into larvae, eventually becoming workers that help to further expand the nest.
A bald-faced hornet nest can grow to be as large as a basketball within a number of months. As many as 700 workers may live in the nest. Males appear late in the summer. The males fertilize some of the newly developed females. These fertilized females look for places to hibernate as cold weather approaches. They will be the next season's queens. The remaining members of the nest perish in winter.
While bald-faced hornets do prey upon other pests and can prove beneficial, their nests should not be permitted to develop near a home. Workers are protective and aggressive when disturbed. Nests should not be handled without the assistance of a pest control professional.
The European hornet, Vespa Crabro (Linnaeus)
The European hornet gets its name from the fact that it was brought to the United States from Europe. It first came to New York around 1850. It has spread west to the Dakotas and south, to Louisiana. It has other names, including Giant hornet and Brown hornet.
At first, the nest only has a few cells. The queen lays an egg in each cell. When the eggs hatch, the queen feeds the larvae nectar and insects. When the larvae have developed into adults, they take over the work. The workers are sterile female insects. The queen’s job is to produce eggs. Through the summer, the number of workers grow. They expand the nest and bring food for the larvae.
European hornets feed on large insects, such as grasshoppers, yellow jackets, and bees. Because of this, most people consider them to be beneficial. They also gather sap from plants. The workers are active at night. They are attracted to lights, and they sometimes startle homeowners by flying into windows where lights are visible.
The location of the nest will determine the best method for control. If the nest is in a void – inside a wall or in a hole in the ground, a dust insecticide might be the best choice. If the nest is exposed on the side of a building, an aerosol insecticide might be the best choice.
Hornet nests are often difficult to reach and to treat. Because of safety concerns, it is advisable to call pest control professionals to treat hornet nests. They will have the equipment and the products that are necessary to control hornets effectively.
Yellow Jacket
Yellow jackets get their name from their yellow and black bodies. They measure between 1/2-inch and one inch in length. Most yellow jackets are black and yellow, although some may exhibit white and black coloration. In contrast to the bee, the yellow jacket's waist is thin and defined. Their elongated wings are as long as the body and fold laterally when at rest.
Known to be aggressive defenders of their colonies, yellow jackets are otherwise not quick to sting. The sting of a yellow jacket is painful and each insect is capable of delivering multiple stings. Yellow jacket stings may induce severe allergic reactions in some individuals.
Many yellow jackets are ground-nesters. Their colonies can be found under porches or steps, in sidewalk cracks, around railroad ties, or at the base of trees. Sometimes the queen finds an abandoned rodent burrow to use as a nesting place. Some yellow jackets build aerial nests in bushes or low-hanging branches or in the corners of buildings and other man-made structures.
A colony may contain a thousand workers by fall. All of the workers are sterile females. In late summer, males will begin to appear. When they become adults, they will mate with the females that will become the next year's queens. The fertilized females will hibernate through the winter. The workers and the males will perish when the weather turns cold.
Yellow jackets are pollinators and may also be considered beneficial because they eat beetle grubs, flies, and other harmful pests. However, they are also known scavengers who eat meat, fish, and sugary substances, making them a nuisance near trash receptacles and picnics.
Although their yellow and black stripes are similar to those of bees, yellow jackets are not a bee species. Rather, yellow jackets are a wasp species and differ from bees in a number of ways.
The bodies of bees are fuzzy and round in shape, while yellow jackets are smooth and thin. Yellow jackets' bodies are narrow between the thorax and abdomen like ants. Unlike bees, which have a barbed stingers and can only sting once before dying, yellow jackets are equipped with lance-like stingers and are capable of delivering multiple stings. While yellow jackets are also pollinators, their ecological benefit is minimal compared to that of bees.
Yellow jackets also differ from bees in behavior and habits. Yellow jackets are scavengers of human food and can be found surrounding trashcans or picnic sites. Yellow jackets also feed on nectar, but they depend primarily upon insects, meat and fish for nourishment. Most bee species are significantly less aggressive than yellow jackets, which may sting at the slightest provocation. It is advisable to call pest control professionals to treat for the yellow jacket. They will have the equipment and the products that are necessary to control these aggressive insects!
For information on other pests, visit the "Pest Index" home page.
