None of the photographs used in this post are mine. I found them all via Google Images; however, I tried to credit their rightful owner where possible in the captions. Also, the information is not my own research, so sources are cited below where I have paraphrased someone else's work.
The Honeybee
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Suborder: Apocrita, Superfamily: Apoidea, Family: Apidae, Genus: Apis, Species: mellifera
Currently, there are only 7 recognized species of honeybee with a total of 44 subspecies [1]. They are eusocial, which means that they live in a cooperative group with a caste system. Honeybees have been domesticated for over 3000 years. I have a blog post coming about cool honeybee facts so I'll leave this section light.
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| Photograph by Stephen Buchman via nationalgeographic.com |
The Africanized Honeybee
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Suborder: Apocrita, Superfamily: Apoidea, Family: Apidae, Genus: Apis, Species: mellifera
These bees are also known as Killer Bees as they are the most defensive and will peruse their attack the longest of any other variety of bee. Although a hybrid of the honeybee we know and love, this bee is not desirable for the average beekeeper as they swarm more frequently and further, as well as the issue of defensiveness.
The best way to tell the difference between Africanized bees and European bees is in a lab through testing [2]. Although there is a slight difference in size it is very difficult to tell the difference by just looking. In the picture below, the Africanized bee is on the left, European on the right, however, I don't think the coloring differences are of note, only the slight size differences.
These bees are also known as Killer Bees as they are the most defensive and will peruse their attack the longest of any other variety of bee. Although a hybrid of the honeybee we know and love, this bee is not desirable for the average beekeeper as they swarm more frequently and further, as well as the issue of defensiveness.
The best way to tell the difference between Africanized bees and European bees is in a lab through testing [2]. Although there is a slight difference in size it is very difficult to tell the difference by just looking. In the picture below, the Africanized bee is on the left, European on the right, however, I don't think the coloring differences are of note, only the slight size differences.
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| Credit to Scott Bauer, USDA-ARS |
The Bumblebee
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Suborder: Apocrita, Superfamily: Apoidea, Family: Apidae, Genus: Bombus, Species: various
So cute! Bumblebees are sweet and soft. I actually pet them because they don't normally sting. There are over 250 species of bumblebees.
So cute! Bumblebees are sweet and soft. I actually pet them because they don't normally sting. There are over 250 species of bumblebees.
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| Cute bumblebee from Photos.com? Sorry, not sure on this one... |
Bumblebees are often found foraging for nectar and pollen similar to the honeybee, however, they do not produce enough honey to attempt to farm them the way we do the honeybee. Also, their nests are different in that they have much smaller colonies (50 bees instead of 50,000), sometimes built in the ground. The queens hibernate over winter and then form a new colony in the spring. She does this on her own, building wax posts and laying eggs to begin a new colony. [3]
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| Bumblebee nest via beneficialbugs.org |
The Carpenter Bee
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Suborder: Apocrita, Superfamily: Apoidea, Family: Xylocopinae, Genus: Xylocopa, Species: various
Carpenter bees are usually found flying around the eaves of houses or near other wooden areas of structures, like a deck. There are 500 varieties of carpenter bees. Some live in small nests together, but most species are solitary, living in nests tunneled in wood.
Carpenter bees are usually found flying around the eaves of houses or near other wooden areas of structures, like a deck. There are 500 varieties of carpenter bees. Some live in small nests together, but most species are solitary, living in nests tunneled in wood.
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| www.buffaloexterminating.com |
They bore holes into the wood and use the tunnels to raise brood and store nectar. It is possible that these holes will be used over years at a time and in those cases, the tunnels can run several feet long. They do not eat the wood, but reform it to make side walls that are similar in consistency to particle board to raise brood. In the image below you can see the tunnels and the smaller brood cells.
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| www.fs.fed.us |
The Wasp (Hornets & Yellow Jackets too)
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera Taxon: Aculeata, Superfamily: Vespoidea, Family: Vespidae, Subfamily: Vespinae, Genus: Dolichovespula, Species: various
This one actually looks kind of creepy to me. Anson once stepped in a yellow jacket nest and had about 30 stings all over his body. They kept stinging him until he swatted them dead. I watched and worried from afar. He was fine though, and didn't even have much of a reaction.
This one actually looks kind of creepy to me. Anson once stepped in a yellow jacket nest and had about 30 stings all over his body. They kept stinging him until he swatted them dead. I watched and worried from afar. He was fine though, and didn't even have much of a reaction.
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| Yellow jacket: Special thanks to Laura Meyers of laurameyers.photoshelter.com |
The term wasp as a species covers over 100,000 insects, including hornets and yellow jackets. They are actually not even a bee, but I'm including them in this post because, well, I didn't know that and I'm assuming you didn't either! Another cool thing I learned is that almost every insect has a corresponding wasp that preys upon it or parasites it. They are sometimes used as a natural form of pest control as they prey mostly on what is considered pest insects, like caterpillars, crickets and flies [5]. Wasps have annual colonies like the bumblebee that is rebuilt each spring. Wasp queens also go dormant through winter, hiding in wood crevices until they reemerge. They do not reuse old nests to start a colony. Unlike honeybees, the wasp can sting multiple times because they do not lose their stinger in your skin.
This is just a joke. It's from this video:
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| www.allcountypestcontrol.com |
Because there are so many varieties of wasps there are also lots of forms of nests. I bet the bees that killed Thomas Jay in My Girl were wasps and not bees if my memory of the nest is correct. The nest Anson stepped in was a ground nest, which you can hardly tell is a nest at all. You've probably seen a small grouping of cells under a house at some point. There are even wasps that make nests out of mud:
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| Uploaded to wikipedia by a user named Pollinator |
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| Paper wasp nest from www.advancedwildlifecontrolllc.com |
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| A hornet nest from Wikipedia. I think this nest is really pretty! |
Cat Bee
And then there is the little known cat bee. This bee is also soft but surprisingly unpredictable.
This is just a joke. It's from this video:
Citations:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeybee
2. M. K. O'Malley, extension assistant, J. D. Ellis, assistant professor, Entomology & Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 and A. S. Neal, extension agent, St. Lucie County, Ft. Pierce, FL.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee
4. Stephen B. Bambara and Michael Waldvogel, Entomology Extension NCSU
5. Jeff Hahn, Phil Pellitteri, & Donald LewisUniversity of Minnesota Extension
5. Jeff Hahn, Phil Pellitteri, & Donald LewisUniversity of Minnesota Extension
Very interesting! I, too, stepped on a yellow jacket nest and was stung without provocation! The darn things went into my socks! Love the video.
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