The popular cartoon character Maya the Bee has determined our image of the bee: the honey collector must be yellow and black striped. But that's not true, because this striking coloration is typical of wasps. In this article you will learn how to distinguish between wasps, hornets and bees.

Hornets are bigger than wasps

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Features in the overview
  3. differences in appearance
  4. differences in behavior
  5. hibernation and nest building
  6. Ecological benefit
  7. frequently asked Questions
  8. Are hornets more poisonous than wasps?
  9. Why do bees die after a sting but wasps and hornets don't?

    10. the essentials in brief

    • Hornets are larger than wasps and have a brown-red rump and yellow rump.
    • All female hornets and wasps have a stinger.
    • Hornets feed on other insects, often pests, while wasps feed on plant nectar and thus pollinate flowers.
    • Both are therefore clearly among the beneficials.

    Easily distinguish hornet, wasp or bee

    Hornet, wasp or bee? You can use this table to quickly determine exactly what is buzzing around in your garden. In fact, wasps and bees in particular are often confused, although they do not bear too much resemblance and bees are also much smaller. On the other hand, the hornet - also known as the giant wasp due to its size - is easily recognizable by many: Only the queen is up to three centimeters long, while the workers are about the same size as wasps. However, you can tell the different species apart by their coloration.

    hornet wasp bee bumblebee
    coloring Head and body reddish brown, abdomen yellow conspicuous yellow-black stripes, no hairs brownish stripes, abdomen clearly hairy broad yellow and black stripes, dense hairs
    body shape similar to the wasp, only larger characteristic "wasp waist" similar to the wasp, but thicker thick, roundish-oval
    size queen 23 up to 35mm up to 20mm 15 to 18mm 15 and 23mm
    Great worker 18 to 25mm 11 to 14mm 11 to 13mm 8-21mm
    spike all females have a sting all females have a sting all females have a sting all females have a sting
    people 400 to 700 animals 3000 to 4000 animals 40,000 to 80,000 animals 50 to 600 animals
    wintering the young queens the young queens as a whole people only the young queens
    nutrition predatory Tree sap, flower nectar and pollen, animal food primarily for larvae Flower nectar, therefore important for plant pollination Flower nectar, therefore important for plant pollination
    particularities capture many harmful insects in the garden important for pollination fly from temperatures of around 10 °C fly out at temperatures from approx. 2 to 8 °C

    Hornets are no more aggressive than wasps

    digression

    The successful mimicry of hoverflies

    But not everything that looks like a wasp or bee is actually one. In particular, the harmless hoverflies - which belong to the dipterans (Diptera) and have no sting - are very successful with their "mimicry". The various species disguise themselves as bumblebees, bees or wasps, adopting an appearance very similar to these "models" and can therefore easily be confused. Hoverflies have a purely vegetarian diet of flower pollen and nectar, which is why they play an important role in the pollination of garden plants. However, they do not build nests or form colonies, but lay their eggs directly on plant leaves.

    differences in appearance

    There is no such thing as "the" honey bee, "the" wasp or "the" hornet. Instead, they are different genera of insects, each with different species.

    Among the bees in Germany, the brownish colored Carnica bee is particularly widespread, reaching a size similar to that of wasp workers. Especially with some beekeepers you will also come across so-called Buckfast bees, which are a special breed and whose coloring tends to be yellowish.

    In their movement, however, bees are more like the rather awkward-looking bumblebees: they are significantly slower than the predatory hornets and wasps. You can recognize these in turn by their characteristic body color and shape. However, only wasps have the well-known, alarming black and yellow stripe coloration, while hornets are brownish-red in the upper area and only the abdomen can appear yellowish.

    differences in behavior

    "Hornets are remarkably large and dangerous-looking, but if you leave them alone, you don't need to be afraid of these normally peaceful animals."

    While bees are well liked by most people, wasps and hornets are not particularly popular - quite the opposite, as these animals are often chased away, killed and their nests destroyed. The main reason for this - quite understandable - fear is the bad reputation of both species. Wasps are considered annoying and aggressive, hornets even deadly poisonous.

    However, this is only partly true, namely when hungry wasps in search of food are attracted by sweet and savory human food in late summer. Bees and hornets, on the other hand, are not particularly interested in our food, which is why you will rarely find either of them at your dining table. The predatory hornets don't do much with lemonade and cake. Bees, on the other hand, are only attracted to your table if it smells like honey.

    However, none of the species mentioned is really aggressive, quite the opposite. Only wasps dare to approach people anyway, while hornets tend to keep their distance. It only becomes a problem if you irritate the animals, for example because you hit them or come too close to their nest. So keep a respectful distance and observe these fascinating creatures. In this way you reduce the risk of an insect bite to almost zero.

    digression

    Proper handling of hornets and wasps

    You should therefore not hit wasps, hornets and bees, because the stressed animals give off alarm pheromones, so that the others are also in the alarm mood and react aggressively. For this reason, avoid getting too close to the nest (a distance of at least two meters should be maintained!) or possibly destroying it with water, fire or smoke. The angry residents will not approve of such behavior on your part and will almost certainly attack you - even days and weeks later. In addition, you should not walk barefoot across a meadow in summer, here you can accidentally step on a bee and get stung

    Differences in hibernation and nest building

    In both hornets and wasps, only the queen survives the winter

    The insects mentioned all form colonies consisting of a queen, hard-working workers and male drones. However, wasps, hornets and bees differ significantly in colony size and in the location and structure of nests.

    • wasps: Only the queen hibernates here, who wakes up from hibernation in the spring, builds a new nest and creates a new wasp colony. The workers and drones only live for a few weeks and die at the latest in autumn, while the new young queens look for winter quarters.
    • hornets: Hornets belong to the wasps and have a similar state system as wasps. Here, too, only the queen hibernates, while workers and drones do not live very long.
    • bees: Bees, on the other hand, live completely differently, because both the queen and part of her colony overwinter in the beehive. In winter, the animals sit close together and keep each other warm, and they also feed on the honey stocks laid down in summer. However, by no means all bees survive the cold season: as a rule, a large proportion die of exhaustion, cold, malnutrition or disease.

    There are further differences in nest construction: the wasp species that are common in our country prefer to nest in sheltered, dark places, which are often found in abandoned mole or mouse holes in the ground. This is why these species are also popularly called "earth wasps". Hornets, on the other hand, like to look for a nesting place in the air, which is why their burrows can often be discovered more quickly.

    Ecological benefit

    Even if some people find it hard to believe, the main task of wasps is not to annoy people nearby. Instead, in late summer, the animals flock to both sweet and savory foods because they are starving and have to feed their brood. From August onwards only a few plants bloom, and a large part of them are not suitable for food production. Many cultivated plants in our gardens are sterile and produce neither nectar nor pollen or hide them in the filled calyxes so that insects cannot reach them and literally starve to death in front of laid tables. Wasps feel the same way, as they are busy collectors of nectar and pollen and thus ensure that the flowers are fertilized.

    In this video you can find out that wasps are not only annoying at the summer coffee table outdoors, but also take on important tasks in nature:

    youtube

    The predatory hornets, on the other hand, capture all kinds of insects that make life difficult for you in the garden. So if you have an insect nest in the garden, you don't have to worry as much about wasps or mosquitoes. Such a people eats about half a kilogram of insects per day, and carrion does not disdain either.

    frequently asked Questions

    Are hornets more poisonous than wasps?

    No, because wasp and hornet venom are chemically very similar. Both poisons are only applied to the skin in a very small amount in the event of a sting, since the stingers do not get stuck. In complete contrast to that of the bee, which dies after a sting - but leaves its stinger and venom sac in the skin. More bee venom penetrates the skin, which is why bees are actually more toxic. However, only around two percent of the population are allergic, i.e. a negligibly small proportion. For everyone else, such a sting - whether from a bee, wasp or hornet - is painful but harmless.

    Why do bees die after a sting but wasps and hornets don't?

    Since bee stingers have a barb, the stinger gets stuck in the skin and the bee's abdomen is torn off. The beast subsequently dies, but gave its life for its people - by stinging the attacker. Wasps and hornets, on the other hand, do not have such barbs, which is why their stingers do not get stuck and the animals therefore live on.

    tips

    All insects presented here are under strict nature protection, so you are not allowed to catch or kill wasps, hornets or bees. The removal of nests is also prohibited.

Category:

Animals in the garden