Stinging Insect Identification Tips

European Honey Bees (EHBs) –

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) are around one-inch long

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) are reddish brown and have black encircling their belly

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) have a delicate striped appearance

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) have got 2 sets of wings

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) have short hairs all over their body – even on their eyes

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) females are only able to sting once and then dies

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) complete colony is able to live through the winter

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) build the inside of their nest out of beeswax

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) are smaller than the bumble bee

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) consume nectar and pollen and make honey

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) have pollen baskets on their rear legs to carry food

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) do dances to express to other bees just how far to fly to get to the food

&#149 European Honey Bees (EHBs) are not native to the United States; they originated in Europe

African Honey Bees (AHBs) –

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) look just like every other type of honey bee

&#149 Africanized Honey Bees (AHBs) are somewhat smaller that the European Honey Bee (EHB) , although only a specialist will be able to differentiate between them

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) guard their hive much more quickly versus European Honey Bee (EHB)

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) usually sting in higher numbers

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) tend to be less picky about where they nest

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) swarm more often than European Honey Bees (EHBs)

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) do not possess more powerful venom than the European Honey Bee (EHB)

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) females can only sting one time and then she dies

&#149 Africanized Honey Bees (AHBs) consume nectar and pollen and make honey

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) have pollen baskets on their hind legs to carry food

&#149 African Honey Bees (AHBs) do dances to express to other bees how far to fly for food

&#149 Africanized Honey Bees (AHBs) are not native to the U.S.; came from Africa

Bumble Bees –

&#149 Bumble Bees are somewhat large and have got robust bodies

&#149 Bumble Bees are yellow-and-black and have soft fine hair

&#149 Bumble Bees have two sets of transparent wings with black veins

&#149 Bumble Bees have got pollen baskets on their hind legs to transport food

&#149 Bumble Bees prefer to construct their nest in the ground or in old bird nests

&#149 Bumble Bees line their nests with moss as well as interwoven grass

&#149 Bumble Bees are reasonably unaggressive

&#149 Bumble Bees  females are able to sting over and over again

&#149 Bumble Bees don’t use dances to communicate with other bees

Carpenter Bees –

&#149 Carpenter Bees are big and robust and resemble the bumble bee

&#149 Carpenter Bees are totally black in color

&#149 Carpenter Bees top surface of belly is bald and shining

&#149 Carpenter Bees have powerful jaw muscles and powerful mandibles that they use to bore tunnels into dead trees or wooden buildings where they live

&#149 Carpenter Bees are solitary insects

&#149 Carpenter Bees aren’t prone to sting unless handled

&#149 Carpenter Bees have a remarkably mild sting

Paper Wasps –

&#149 Paper Wasps have a very thin waist

&#149 Paper Wasps are brightly colored, smooth and fairly shiny

&#149 Paper Wasps have sharply contrasting black-and-yellow patterns

&#149 Paper Wasps have two sets of dusky-colored wings

&#149 Paper Wasps have got narrow cylindrical legs and no pollen baskets

&#149 Paper Wasps mandibles are used for biting and chewing

&#149 Paper Wasps build their nest out of paper constructed from plant fiber or wood

&#149 Paper Wasps like to position their nest in a hollow tree, in the ground, or under the eaves of a house

&#149 Paper Wasps are predators and consume insects and spiders

&#149 Paper Wasps females are able to sting repeatedly

Yellow Jackets –

&#149 Yellow Jackets are a kind of short, stocky wasp

&#149 Yellow Jackets have a cross-banded black-and-yellow abdomen

&#149 Yellow Jackets head and thorax are black with yellow spots and bars

&#149 Yellow Jackets have got a broad belly that tapers off conically to a sharp point where the stinger is concealed

&#149 Yellow Jackets, while not flying, the wings are folded lengthwise down the middle and are held slightly out to the side

&#149 Yellow Jackets are fast to attack any time disturbed near their nest

&#149 Yellow Jackets females are able to sting repeatedly

&#149 Yellow Jackets like to nest in weedy brush areas on the ground or underground in an old animal burrow or crevice

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