How Can you tell Bees and Wasps Apart?

Species

There are many different types, varieties, and species of bees. Some of the most common are detailed below, including a few of the less desirable relations.

Honey Bee

The honey bee is not native to North America and was brought to the country to help pollinate agricultural crops. Honey bees are golden brown in color with black stripes on the abdomen.

They pollinate plants as they collect pollen on their legs while visiting flowers to collect nectar, which bees use as food. As they move from flower to flower, the pollen transfer from plant to bee and bee to plant, facilitating the pollination of various plants as the bee makes its journey.

Honey bees are unlikely to sting as they only choose to do this as a last resort – after stinging, the bee will die. The stinger is left in the victim after the event, but unfortunately for the bee, the stinger is attached to the bee’s digestive tract, so as it flies away a vital part of its anatomy is left behind.

Without pollinating bees, many crops would fail, causing huge issues for the health and wellbeing of humans around the world.

Wild honey bees usually build their hives in hollow trees, crevices in rocks, or other similar locations. When kept in captivity, the hives are typically built in structures created by humans.

Carpenter Bee

Carpenter bees are the larger cousin of honey bees, and got their name from their nesting habits – they bore holes into wood that are exceptionally neat. The female lays eggs in this hole, and when the eggs hatch, the bees come out one by one.

These bees have black bodies with thick black and yellow hair on their head and thorax. Their abdomen, however, is hair-free.

They are pollinators, but many people consider them to be the least desirable of all bees due to their habit of boring into wood and thereby damaging property. They are also known to bore into small flowers which they would otherwise be unable to fit into. This allows them to obtain nectar, but doesn’t help with pollination, and deprives smaller bee species of food and the opportunity to pollinate.

As with many other bees, the likelihood of stinging by carpenter bees is low.

Bumble Bee

Bumblebees are native to North America and differ in appearance from other bees. They are slightly larger than honey bees, but carpenter bees are much larger than both. The most noticeable difference from honey bees is in their coloring – they have a black body that is covered with thick yellow and black hair.

Just like honey and carpenter bees, bumble bees are effective pollinators, and won’t sting you unless it is as a last resort. There are many different species of bumblebee, but as a whole, they get their name from the noise they make when they are inside a flower.

The speed of their movement within a flower causes vibrations that are audible and cause pollen to fall right off the flower.

They build nests on the ground, often in holes that have been previously created by other animals.

Yellow Jackets, Wasps, and Hornets

Yellow jackets and some other wasps are often black and yellow, which can lead to confusion with bees. There are over 100,000 separate species of wasps, but it is not common to find a yellow jacket in a garden. Wasps can be pollinators but tend to focus more on eating other insects or any human food (especially meat) that has been left lying around. As such, they don’t visit flowers all that much.

Hornets are very similar to yellow jackets but are often larger, and can be colored black and white rather than black and yellow.

They are happy to sting as the first line of defense, as unlike bees, their stinger can be used multiple times and does not remain in the victim.

The Incredible Bee – the Role of Bee in the environment and why it’s crucial to remove them alive

Bees are fascinating flying insects. They are closely related to ants and wasps, but they are more critical and essential for our environment because of different roles they play such as pollination and honey. Many people find bees to be a little scary or at least a nuisance, especially if they are allergic. You might be wondering, other than honey, why do we need bees, anyway?

Why Do We Need Bees?

Bees are incredible. The bee is vital to our planet’s ecosystems and our food supply. Without bees, 30 to 40 percent of our food supply would disappear. We need more than just water and sunshine to make this planet green, the majority of our crops and plants require pollination to spread and thrive. Bees are the most critically important and useful pollinators. We need bees because their populations around the world are declining and are increasingly threatened by loss of habitat and food supplies, diseases, pesticides, and climate change. However, there is good news!

We have ways to help the bee populations grow once again that includes planting bee-friendly gardens. Following are some of the reasons why it is vital to remove bees alive and to explain their role in the environment.

Pollination

Do you like plants, flowers, Almonds, vegetables, tree fruits, berries, cotton for your clothes, coffee, tea and chocolate, tomatoes, and tomato products? Did you ever notice what helps these flowers and crops grow and spread? They are insects, mainly bees. Plants like apples, melons, and broccoli require the transfer of pollen from their male part to female part to germinate. This transfer of pollen is usually done by birds, air, butterflies, and mammals but honey bees and other bees are the most important as they pollinate the most. As bees travel from plant to plant and flower to flower for getting the nectar to make honey, grains of pollens are stuck on their surface which results in plants’ growth and production of food. Bees pollinate billions of plants and crops every year and are very hard workers. Without bees, many plants would die as they will not be able to germinate and produce food. In fact, bees are responsible for every third bite of food we eat.. This is why bees hold a valuable role in our environment, and it is essential to remove them alive.

Food

This is one of the most essential reasons why bees should be removed alive and how they are incredible in terms of playing a role in the environment. During the winter months, bees produce honey for feeding. Humans harvest honey, and it is widely used as a rich source of food. However, honey is not a food source for humans only, but birds, raccoons, insects also depend largely on it. In another way, bees are a vital part of the food chain, and several species of birds also prey on them.

These are some of the points to explain the role of bees in the environment and why it is crucial to help them grow and increase their population. In addition to that, the role of bees can also be seen in the following ways.

Biodiversity

Bees are an integral part of our ecosystem, and as pollinators, they play a vital role. By supporting the growth of trees, plants, and crops, they provide food for many creatures. Bees contribute to the complex and intricate ecosystem in a meaningful manner, and that results in different species stay together and co-existing. No one can doubt the importance of bees for our food system, and without them, our lands might be barren and plant dry. Moreover, adding to the biodiversity of the ecosystem, bees provide us with many other benefits.

Plant Growth

It is not about plants and crops grown only be humans, but bees also help the wild plants to grow and hence improving the greenery. Species of wild plants that depend upon pollinators to grow, bees play an essential role for them. They help these plants produce nuts, seeds, fruits and berries which are a food source for wild animals.

Wildlife Habitats

We know that bees make hives, but in addition to that, they provide home and habitat to hundreds of other animals and insects. As mentioned earlier, their role is vital in the growth of wild plants and tropical forests; these forests and plants work as home and habitat for several species of animals and insects. A human-grown garden serves as a home for hundreds of small species including birds, insects, and squirrels, etc. These gardens are grown by bees and the animals that depend on these gardens; they indirectly depend on bees.

We Want Bees Alive

As you can see the world would be a lot duller without these beautiful insects. Their contribution to the biodiversity of our planet cannot be doubted. Whether it be pollinating wild habitats or the crops we grow, providing honey, contributing to the habits of other animals, or helping to provide clothes and blankets for us, we must work together to keep these beautiful creatures alive.