Wasps

Wasp on nest View clip

Like the honeybee, the wasp is a member of the order Hymenoptera, which are social insects that include bees, wasps and ants.  Social insects have a complex, regimented social structure in their colonies, with a division of labor between the different castes.  The only other order of social insects is Isoptera, the termites.  Wasps differ significantly from the honeybee in both behavior and appearance.

• While honeybees nest in colonies with a population numbering from 20,000 to 60,000, wasps usually number from less than ten per nest, as shown here, to several hundred, except for solitary wasps.

• Honeybees are relatively gentle, becoming aggressive only when their colony is directly threatened.  A honeybee will rarely sting when away from the colony unless it is physically hurt or trapped, such as when it is stepped on or caught in someone's hair or clothing.  Wasps sting much more readily when foraging, even far from their nest.  

• Honeybees feed only on nectar (honey) and pollen, while most wasps are carnivorous, eating other insects and small animals (the "bee killer" wasp actually preys exclusively on bees).  Honeybees are excellent pollinators for most types of flowering plants, but wasp nests lack the numbers necessary to significantly impact pollination for most plant species.  However, certain wasps, although carnivorous, unwittingly pollinate certain plants; the fig wasp lays its eggs in the fig tree's flowers, pollinating the tree while laying her eggs.  

• Honeybees build their honeycombs using beeswax, which they manufacture in their wax glands, and which we use for many applications, including candles, cosmetics and wood polish.  Many wasps build their nests using paper, which they form from bits of wood they chew up.  Other wasps live in the ground, digging tunnels and holes for their nest.  

• Honeybees manufacture honey, and they are the only insect known to make food for human consumption.  Wasps do not produce food, but rather kill other insects for food and feed them to their young.

Some better-known types of wasps include hornets, yellow jackets, dirt daubers, common wasps and red wasps.

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