do you know the differences between bees and wasps?

“Today a bee has stung me, what a pain! Actually I tell bee but maybe it was a wasp…”

“I have a wasp nest at home and I have no idea of how to get rid of of it. But bees or wasps? Pfff bees, wasps it’s the same…I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference…”

no way! Stop it, let’s make it clear: bees and wasps are completely different! Of course, they both fly, they have both stripes and similar colours, but there are some very important differences.

What I must admit is that, before getting closer to the bee world, me too I used to belong to the team „bees&wasps are the same“. Would you like to find out with us the main differences between wasps and bees? Vamos!

In this case, appearance matters

Do you think that there are no differences between wasps and bees, right? It is not this way. Their way to spend their days is completely different, but also their tastes and passions and their appearance as well. Here below something that you should notice as soon as you are in front of a wasp:

• wasps are yellow and black, a tweety yellow just to make you understand. While bees (at least the honigbees, apis mellifera), are more towards orange.
• Wasps are super smooth, while bees have a little bit of fur
• wasps are extra slim, while bees are plump

These are the three main points that, if kept in mind, even if not so expert you can distinguish them without issues.

But let’s go deeper into the matter!

There are then more differences between wasps and bees that, I’m sorry if I don’t sound so neutral, but will make you appreciate more the bees. Let’s see:

• bees and they super organism: it is potentially infinite, it increases or decreases according to the season but it’s endless. While what about wasps? At the end of the season, they produce some queens and right them will be the only survivors of the kingdom. Yes, all the over wasps die! And at the end of Winter, the only wasp queens that survived (that’s why they produce many, because winter will kill some of them) they will start again with their nest from the beginning.
• The nest: this too is much different. The one of the bees is a masterpiece made with beewax hexagonal cells, whereas wasp nest is much more rudimental, made with pieces of wood that they find around (always remember, wasps don’t produce beewax, only bees have this super power!)
• Bees don’t spoil fruits: bees have jaws, but they don’t use them for it, they use them for working the wax for example. They are gourmand of nectar and what they need for it is their long tongue, the ligula. Wasps, instead, uses their jaws to break the fruit (for example grapes, cherries or strawberries). They may spoil part of the harvest!
• Pollination: bees are great pollinators, this is well known, but what about wasps? No, wasps no, and moreover during the hardest times of the year (that is end of summer, when Winter is getting closer), they do their best to steal bees provisions from the hives!

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What do you think? Now it’s clearer the difference between wasps and bees? Which is the one that surprised you the most?

Let us know here below.

A hug,

the Gaeblini