Photos
of Bees, Hornets & Wasps
Wasps
are not bees! Yellow Jackets
and many other wasps
and hornets get bad
press for a reason--they are often aggressive, uninvited guests, and
are NOT significant pollinators.
Wasps
nest in papery hives above ground or underground. The wasps
are relatively hairless, and have pointed abdomens.
These
ill-tempered hotheads readily sting people.
True
bees are usually hairy, are much more docile and usually
don’t
sting
unless they are stepped on or forced to defend a nest site. Gardeners
and farmers, alike, need bees for pollinating plants.
Hornet
stings are more painful to humans than typical wasp
stings; the pain may persist for several days with attendant swelling.
A hornet can sting
multiple times
and, unlike honey bees,
hornets
and
wasps do not
die after stinging because their stingers are not
barbed,
thus, not
pulled out of their bodies after stinging.
People
who are allergic to wasp venom are also allergic to hornet stings.
Bald-faced
Hornet
See
BEFORE and AFTER our treatment of a bald-faced hornet hive - Click
Here
Bald-faced
hornets are extremely aggressive when disturbed and WILL
STING repeatedly. It is NOT considered safe to approach
the
nest (often
football-like in shape) for observation purposes. The bald-faced hornet
will aggressively attack with little provocation. More...
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European
Hornet
The
European Hornet is the best-known
species, and
the only species introduced to the U.S. In general, hornets are the
largest eusocial wasp with the European hornet about 2-3.5 cm in length.
The
nest of a European Hornet
can be underground,
inside large cracks in trees, attached to the framework of houses and
structures, or buried in long grass (like the above photo). As
the
colony size grows, the hive is expanded. At the peak of its
population (late summer), the colony can reach a size of 700 workers.
The
nests are founded in spring, by a fertilized
queen. She first builds a series of cells (up to 50) out of
chewed tree bark. An egg is then laid in each cell and, after
undergowing 4 weeks of various stages of development, the first
generation adults emerge (invariably females).
The
new workers will take over all tasks formerly conducted by the queen,
except egg-laying, which remains exclusive to the queen.
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Paper
Wasp
Paper
wasps are somewhat aggressive when feeding, but are the poster
child for "aggressive" behavior near their nests!
Individual
wasps will
take issue with your presence and also release a pheromone--an airborne
communication--that incites the rest of the wasp inhabitants to
riot...all
with the ability to sting over and over. .....More
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Yellow
Jacket Wasp
The
yellow
jacket wasp will sting repeatedly and is primarily only
dangerous to humans who are allergic or are stung many times.
Spring
through summer, yellow jackets
(a
wasp) bring
insects, meat and
fish to feed larvae in their rapidly growing colony. By late summer or
early September, the larvae are all grown and the result is about 5,000
hungry adults looking for meat and natural sugars to fuel their
full-flight metabolisms.
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Bumble Bee
According
to researchers at the University of Maine, on a bee-for-bee basis, bumble
bee species are eight times more
efficient than honey bees at
pollinating some highly-valued crop types. The bumble
bees
are more
effective because they will fly in cooler temperatures, damper
conditions and lower light levels extending pollination by several
hours each day.
Should
there be a human family history of allergic reactions to bee stings
near a bumble bee hive, MB Integrated Pest Control will conduct
extermination procedures; removing a most serious health risk.
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Honey Bee
The
population of a healthy hive in mid-summer can average between 40,000
and 80,000 bees.
Protecting
the Honey Bee - Once properly identified, and the honey
bee
hive
located, MB Integrated Pest Control will gather pertinent information
and contact a reliable beekeeper to set up hive
relocation
procedures.
Fun
Fact: One of many honey bee species, the Western
Honey Bee (aka: European
Honey Bee) serves as the Wisconsin
state insect (as of 1977).
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