The popular cartoon character Maya the Bee has determined our image of the bee: the honey collector must have yellow and black stripes. But that's not true, because this striking coloring is typical of wasps. You can find out how you can distinguish between wasps, hornets and bees in this article.
What are the differences between hornets and wasps?
Hornets and wasps differ in size, color and diet. Hornets are larger, have a brown-red body and yellow abdomen. Wasps have striking yellow-black stripes. Hornets feed on insects, while wasps prefer plant nectar and pollen.
Easily distinguish between hornet, wasp or bee
Hornet, wasp or bee? You can quickly determine what exactly is floating around in your garden using this table. In fact, wasps and bees in particular are often confused, even though they are not very similar and bees are also much smaller. Many people think that the hornet - also known as the giant wasp due to its size - is easy to recognize: only the queen is up to three centimeters long, while the workers are about the same size as wasps. However, you can easily distinguish between the different species by their coloring.
| hornet | Wasp | Bee | Bumblebee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coloring | Head and body brown-red, abdomen yellow | striking yellow-black stripes, no hair | brownish stripes, abdomen clearly hairy | wide yellow and black stripes, thick hair |
| Body shape | similar to the wasp, only bigger | characteristic “wasp waist” | similar to the wasp, but chubby | plump, roundish-oval |
| Size Queen | 23 up to 35 mm | up to 20 mm | 15 to 18 mm | 15 and 23 mm |
| Size Worker | 18 to 25 mm | 11 to 14 mm | 11 to 13 mm | 8-21mm |
| Sting | all female animals have a stinger | all female animals have a stinger | all female animals have a stinger | all female animals have a stinger |
| 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 saps, flower nectar and pollen, animal food primarily for larvae | Flower nectar, therefore important for plant pollination | Flower nectar, therefore important for plant pollination |
| Special features | prey 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
Excursus
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 Diptera family and do not have a stinger - are very successful with their “mimicry”. The different species camouflage themselves as bumblebees, bees or wasps by adopting an appearance very similar to these “role models” and can therefore be easily confused. Hoverflies have a purely vegetarian diet of 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 rather lay their eggs directly on plant leaves.
Differences in appearance
“The” honey bee, like “the” wasp or “the” hornet, does not exist. Instead, they are different genera of insects, each of which includes different species.
When it comes to bees, the brownish colored Carnica bee, which is similar in size to wasp workers, is particularly widespread in Germany. Especially with some beekeepers you will also come across so-called Buckfast bees, which are a special breed and whose color tends to be yellowish.
In their movement, however, bees are more similar to the rather clumsy-looking bumblebees: they are significantly slower than the predatory hornets and wasps. You can recognize these in turn by their characteristic body coloring and shape. However, only wasps have the well-known, alarming black and yellow stripes, while hornets are brownish-red in the upper area and only the abdomen can look yellowish.
Differences in behavior
" Hornets are noticeably large and look dangerous - but if you leave them alone, you don't need to be afraid of these peaceful animals."
While bees are very popular with most people, wasps and hornets are not particularly popular - on the contrary, because 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 genres. Wasps are considered annoying and aggressive, hornets are even considered deadly poisonous.
However, this is only partially true, namely when hungry wasps looking for food in late summer are attracted by sweet and savory human food. 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 dinner table. The predatory hornets can't do much with lemonade and cake. Bees, on the other hand, will only be attracted to your table if it smells like honey.
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 by hitting them or getting 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.
Excursus
Proper handling of hornets and wasps
You should therefore not strike at wasps, hornets and bees because the stressed animals release alarm pheromones so that the others are also in an alarm mood and react aggressively. For this reason, you should also 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 do 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, as you can accidentally step on a bee and get stung
Differences in wintering and nest building
In both hornets and wasps, only the queen survives the winter
The insects mentioned all form colonies that consist of a queen as well as hard-working workers and male drones. However, wasps, hornets and bees differ considerably in terms of the size of the state as well as the location and structure of the nests.
- Wasps: Only the queen hibernates here, waking up from hibernation in the spring, building a new nest and creating a new wasp colony. The workers and drones only live for a few weeks and die in autumn at the latest, while the new young queens look for winter quarters.
- Hornets: Hornets belong to the wasps and have a similar state system to wasps. Here, too, only the queen overwinters, while workers and drones do not live very long.
- Bees: Bees, on the other hand, live a completely different life, because both the queen and part of her colony overwinter in the beehive. The animals sit close together in winter and keep each other warm, and they also draw on the honey stored in the summer. However, not all bees survive the cold season: a large number usually die from exhaustion, cold, malnutrition or illness.
There are further differences in nest building: The wasp species that are common in our country prefer to nest in protected, dark places, which are often found in abandoned mole or mouse holes in the ground. That’s why these species are popularly called “earth wasps”. Hornets, on the other hand, like to look for a nesting place at lofty heights, which is why their burrows are often easier to discover.
Ecological benefits
Even if some people may find it hard to believe: the main job of wasps is not to annoy nearby people. Instead, the animals fly away in late summer for both sweet and savory foods because they are hungry and have their brood to look after. From August onwards only a few plants bloom, and a large proportion of them are not suitable for food production. Many cultivated plants in our gardens are sterile and produce neither nectar nor pollen or store them too hidden in the filled calyxes so that insects cannot reach them and literally starve in front of the set tables. Wasps also feel the same way, as they are busy collectors of nectar and pollen and thus ensure the fertilization of the flowers.
You can find out in this video that wasps are not only annoying at the summer coffee table outdoors, but also take on important tasks in nature:
The predatory hornets, on the other hand, prey on all kinds of insects that make life difficult for you in the garden. So if you have an insect nest in your garden, you won't have to worry as much about wasps or mosquitoes. Such a colony eats about half a kilogram of insects per day, and carrion is also not disdained.
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 to a very small extent in the event of a sting, as the stingers do not get stuck. In complete contrast to the bee, which dies after a sting - but leaves its stinger and poison sac behind in the skin. This means that more bee venom penetrates the skin, which is why bees are actually more poisonous. However, only around two percent of the population are allergic, i.e. a negligible 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 animal subsequently dies, but has given 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 continue to live.
Tip
All insects presented here are under strict conservation protection, so you are not allowed to catch or kill wasps, hornets or bees. Removing nests is also prohibited.