How to Tell the Difference Between a Bee, Wasp, and Hornet

Have you noticed insects are buzzing around your home? Are you unsure if it's a wasp, or should you call a bee hive removal company? Here are ways to tell whether you have bees, hornets, or wasps.

Color

One of the reasons why it's easy to mistake bees for hornets or wasps is due to a similar color. However, one color is a dead giveaway that you're not dealing with a bee. A bee is usually black and yellow, but it can be brown and yellow. However, you'll never see a bee that's white and black. If you see one that is white and black, it's either a hornet or a wasp.

Shapes

According to National Geographic, as many as 30 thousand species of wasps are on the planet. You can quickly identify one by its elongated body and slim legs. A hornet can typically be even larger than a wasp, but both will have narrow waists. You know to call a bee hive removal company, when you see the rounder, furrier body shape of a bee, along with its stout legs.

Diet

You won't ever have to worry about a bee buzzing around your hamburger at a picnic. After all, bees are vegetarians and prefer to focus on honey. They usually buzz around flowers to collect the pollen, which helps make honey. However, hornets and wasps are carnivores, and some hornet species will even attack bees by ripping their heads off. Some can even eat other dangerous insects like the Black Widow!

Aggression

Contrary to popular belief, a bee won't just randomly sting you. They're very gentle insects, and only attempt to sting you if they feel threatened, particularly around their hive. Plus, once they sting you, their stinger falls off putting their lives at risk. Hornets and wasps are the more aggressive insects and easily sting you more than one time since their stinger doesn't fall off as it does with the bee.

As a homeowner, you don't want to risk getting stung or hurt on your property. Bees, wasps, and hornets are essential to the ecosystem, but some pose more danger than others. Essential Pest Control is licensed and has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau, so we can always quickly identify which type of insect it is and remove it. Not only are we a bee hive removal company, but we work with many different types of pests. Whenever you have an invasion of insects, call us today for fast and reliable service.