Bees, Wasps And Hornets? Are All 3 The Same?

A creative soul with a zeal to know the why…

Bees, Wasps And Hornets — “Teeno ek hi toh hoti hai yaar.”

Remember, back in school when a bee stung, we used to say, “lohe ki chaabi ghis, chaabi…!” Well, “luckily,” we believed, for sure, that it was just a bee bite and nothing serious at all. Cuz it could have.

1. Bees, Wasps and Hornets are actually not one and the same thing. The closest and easiest translations we could get for the three are, Bees are “Madhumakhi,” Wasps are “Tetaiya,” and Hornets are species of Wasps.

2. “Agar alag-alag hai toh why Bees, Wasps and Hornets look the same to us?”

similar colours (yellow, orange, red, brown, white and black)
all can sting, some can kill
all live in hives/combs (make their nests in protected, low-temperature and sheltered spaces)
all reproduce in warm weather (Spring to Summer)

“Bees, Wasps and Hornets–dekhte hi difference kaise pata kare?”

You can spot whether it’s a bee or wasp by observing the insect’s shape, size, marks and body.

Characteristics Of Bees:

Have hair (setae)
3 parts of abdomen (thorax), hardy legs, wings (in-sync on the flight)
Largest Bee Species: (1.54 inches) Megachile pluto (Wallace’s Giant Bee)
Smallest Bee Species: (0.08 inches) Meliponula ferruginea (Dwarf Stingless Bees)
Live most of their lives protecting the queen bee (letting her lay eggs), busy collecting nectar and in the process contributing pollination of some plants.

Characteristics of Wasps (and their species, Hornets):

Don’t have hair
3 parts of abdomen (thorax): petiole (connecting pointed lower and upper body), legs are shinier and well-shaped, forewings are bigger in size than hind wings (female wasps have no wings)
Largest (Social) Wasp Species: (2 inches) (Asian Giant Hornet).
Smallest (Solitary) Wasp Species: (0.0055 inches) (Chalcid Wasps)
Don’t pollinate. Hunt food (omnivorous insects; devour human food, fruits, plants and other insects).

“Bees, Wasps and Hornets–which one is khatarnaak?”

All of them can sting, but symptoms might differ from species to species! Also, there are behavioural differences between them.

Bees sting once, and these stings are curable at home (unless one is allergic to bee stings). Most bee species die after stinging. Some
Wasps can sting more than once and are more harmful. They do not die after stinging. Stings of its species (like Hornet) can leave the reaction up till a week or more!
Both might leave allergic reactions and are venomous.
Venom immunotherapy (allergy shots) and escaping a wasp/bee attack are two ways to prevent getting stung by either.
Most wasps are known to be more aggressive than bees. These are omnivorous and predators.
Bees are often traced back to have evolved from Wasps. These eat pollen and are gentler.

Common Types of Bees, Wasps and Hornets

Bees (Apidae Family): Honey Bee, Bumble Bee (both are social bees)
Wasps (Vespidae Family): Paper Wasp (not aggressive), Yellowjacket.
Hornets (also Wasps): Bald-faced Hornet, European Hornet, Asian Giant Hornet (extremely aggressive).

The Asian Giant Hornet Wasps has been known as the most venomous of insects. As their name suggests, these are found in mountain areas of Japan, Vietnam, Russia and China. Thus, they are also called yak-killers. They can destroy the tissues of the most giant of mammals!Nonetheless, after 2018, Polistes carnifex (Paper Wasp) has been accepted by many as the most spiteful, powerful and burning of stings. This happened after an Animal Planet’s star, YouTuber and Wildlife Expert, Coyote Peterson, popularised the “Executioner Wasp”. He took the sting of one!

Blog Edited By Ritika Gupta

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