09.12.2020
Each of us has encountered representatives of the order Hymenoptera - bees, hornets, wasps, bumblebees. Some of the most dangerous representatives are wasps and hornets. How to distinguish them from each other and how to understand which of them are more dangerous? To answer these questions, we will consider each type in detail.
- Appearance
- Nest structure
- Lifestyle
- Why are they dangerous for humans?
- What to do if bitten by a wasp or hornet
- How to get rid of a hive
Where can you find bees?
“It depends on what kind of bee we are talking about. Honeybees like to build hives in hollow trees, while bumblebees will nest in cavities similar to abandoned rodent burrows, Troiano says. “Both of them can be seen on flowers when they are extracting nectar.”
Carpenter bees typically nest in wood, including partially rotted trees. They also like wood with an unpainted surface.
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Lifestyle
The lifestyle of both types of insects is similar. These are social insects that live in large colonies with a clear hierarchy. The family has a queen, males, and workers. Each individual strictly performs its own function, which allows the colony to quickly increase its numbers. The queen and males are engaged in the reproduction of offspring, workers obtain food and build hives. The bulk of the colony are working individuals that ensure the survival of the queen.
Wasp on fruit
Both insects are predators. They feed on smaller species. A wasp, for example, can destroy bee hives, obtaining honey as food, and also taking bees into its hive to feed the larvae. Hornets also eat small caterpillars, ants and other insects.
In addition to small insects, both species love sweets, such as fruits, berries, sweet drinks (kvass, compote, lemonade, juices), desserts, rotten foods, jam, honey, syrups.
Can bees harm you?
Most of them can. “Bee stings typically result in pain and a localized reaction of mild swelling, redness and itching at the site of the sting,” says Troiano. “However, for a person who is allergic to bee stings, even one sting can be life-threatening.”
When a bee stings you, its stinger detaches and continues to pump you full of venom until you remove it, which is not very pleasant. The pain does not last forever, but the bite usually causes swelling and itching.
It's worth noting that honey bees usually die after stinging a person, and ground bees are not aggressive, so the chances of being stung by one are low.
Differences in flight
These insects even fly differently.
The movements of the wasp are sharp, they can hang in the air for some time. They move from one place to another with lightning speed. Often during a flight you can observe chaotic, sudden movements. The exception is large wasps (hornets, scolias), they move more slowly.
The flight of a bee is somewhat calmer and more measured. They are not characterized by sudden movements; they try to land as quickly as possible. They do not produce an annoying buzzing sound, unlike wasps.
The bumblebee flies slowly, heavily, with a noticeable hum. From an aerodynamic point of view, a bumblebee should not fly at all. But the bumblebees were not told about this, so every morning they fly out to do their business.
Clarification: Physicist Jane Wang from Cornell University (USA) proved that the flight of insects does not violate physical laws, and finally dispelled the old myth that bumblebees cannot fly .
Where can you find wasps?
Wasps like to build their nests in places such as eaves, gutters, voids, bushes, branches and along fences. Paper wasp nests look like upside-down umbrellas, while hornets typically build their nests in the ground.
“Wasps are carnivores, so they love meat,” says Howard Russell, M.D., an entomologist at Michigan State University. “Wasps very often sting people because others are near their food.” They gravitate towards crumbs and drops of sugary drinks, but also love plants and flowers.
Nest structure
The housing of these predators is also similar in appearance, but there are slight differences. The shape of the hives and the internal structure are the same. Wasps build nests from gray material, while hornets' nests are brownish. They resemble a ball or pear in shape. The location of the hives of both types is similar. Typically, predators' homes are located on tree trunks, in old bird nests, in attics, under the roof of houses or in other places protected from the wind. The size of the nests depends on the size of the colony; the larger the family, the larger the size of the nest.
Vespiary
Wasps obtain material for building hives on their own, using old trees, stumps, and various wooden buildings, which results in the gray color of the nest. They moisten the upper part of the wood, then with their powerful jaws they scrape off the upper part, chew it into pulp, after which they fly to the place where the hive is built and build a house from this pulp, gluing the parts of the nest with saliva.
Wasp hive
Nest construction proceeds from top to bottom. Starting with a few hundred, it gradually acquires more and more new cells. The hive has a shell that protects it from drafts and from the scorching heat in summer. During the winter, the family breaks up and each female creates a new colony in the spring.
Hornet's nest
Hornets use birch bark and rotten wood as a building material for their hive, which creates a brownish color, which, however, can vary depending on the type of wood used. They chew wood in the same way as wasps, and then glue the parts of the house together using the secretion contained in their saliva. Externally, the dwellings look unsightly, but inside them there are very slender honeycombs located on several floors.
Hornet hive
A nest is formed, similar to a wasp’s – from top to bottom, starting with a small “chandelier” and gradually expanding with new honeycombs. Hornets do not use the same nest two years in a row. With the arrival of spring, the colony begins construction of a new house.
Can wasps harm you?
Yes, wasps do not lose their stinger when they attack, so they usually have no problem stinging more than once. People typically get stung when they either get too close to a nest or simply accidentally bump into a wasp. “If a wasp is near or on top of you and you panic and try to swat it away, it will interpret this as an act of aggression,” Russell says. “However, if you gently wave the wasp away and walk away, it will leave you alone.” Its bite can also cause a serious allergic reaction.
Human interaction
Wasp stings are familiar to many people. These are quite aggressive insects that attack immediately in primary dangerous situations. Hornets are distinguished by the fact that they behave less aggressively towards humans, but are capable of attacking if they feel a danger to themselves or their relatives.
Video
Wasps and hornets: why are their stings dangerous?
Wasp
Small Hymenoptera often end up in the possession of people. They are attracted by food supplies. They freely enter living spaces through open windows, but only bite if they feel that something is threatening them.
A swarm attack is especially dangerous for humans. Wasps are distinguished by the fact that they can sting 2-3 times in a minute. They stick a stinger under a person's skin and inject a poisonous substance into it. If a large amount of poison enters the victim’s systemic bloodstream at the same time, the consequences can be very unpredictable.
Hornet
The behavior of hornets differs due to their taste preferences. They love sweets (honey, sugar, fruits, berries). But they behave less aggressively towards people. Insects attack only if they see a real danger to themselves or their relatives. Taking care of the larvae, they kill insects, caterpillars, and spiders.
Compared to a wasp sting, hornets are different in that they sting less painfully, but also provoke an allergic reaction. The victim experiences swelling, hyperemia of the bitten area, pain, and a local increase in temperature. And in an allergy sufferer, the condition is characterized by nausea, vomiting, general loss of strength and breathing problems.
Can hornets harm you?
Yes, hornets sting when they feel threatened. They can also do this multiple times and can cause serious pain and injury, especially if you have allergies.
If you spot a stinging insect, be it a bee, wasp or hornet, you should move to another location. Later you can find out who was in front of you.
So, bees are fluffy, but wasps are not. Bees use pollen to make and eat honey, while wasps are carnivores. Hornets are usually black and white or black and yellow, while bees are usually more golden in color. Bees die when they are stung, but wasps, hornets and bumblebees do not.
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Appearance
The first thing that catches your eye when you see these insects is the difference in size. The hornet is larger than the wasp. Thus, the queen hornet reaches a length of 4-5 cm, working individuals and males are slightly smaller. The size of the wasp is approximately half that size: the queen reaches 1.8-2 cm in length, working individuals - up to 1.5 cm.
Wasp
The structure of the body is the same in both species. There is a head, a chest, a thin waist and an abdomen. There are three pairs of legs and two pairs of membranous wings. The head has a pair of eyes, antennae and powerful jaws. Individuals have slightly different head shapes. Wasps have a small head, tapering towards the base. Their larger relatives have a larger and wider head, almost round in shape.
Hornet
The color of the insects is similar, but still slightly different. The color of the wasp consists of black and yellow colors. The head and part of the chest are black, the other part of the chest and abdomen are striped black and yellow. The hornet has practically no black color in its color. Instead, the head and chest are colored brown, the abdomen, like a wasp, is striped, the only difference is the color of the stripes.
Nutrition and lifestyle
Most wasps, bees and bumblebees are insects with a gregarious lifestyle.
The bumblebee is the first to go to collect nectar. He does this alone, early in the morning. Typically, searching and collecting food takes about 18 hours. Bees and wasps fly out in flocks, the former often have small groups, while wasps form a swarm of 20-30 individuals.
The hornet searches for food alone, covering distances of up to 10 km.
All of these species love nectar, but hornets also feed on sweet berries and fruits, small insects, even bees. If during its flight the hornet discovers a beehive, it marks it with its scented secretion so that it will later return with a swarm. Hornets brutally kill bees, bite off their heads and eat away their peritoneum. The most valuable trophy remains honey. Wasps also love honey; because of such enmity, wasps, bees and hornets cannot exist with each other in the same territory.
Wasps are aggressive and predatory, most often they attack bees, wanting to get honey, but it is easier for bees to cope with wasps and repel an attack on the hive. Wasps also love sweet fruits or sugary foods.
The difference between bees and bumblebees from other species is that they eat only nectar from flowering plants.
