Bee vs. Wasps
Two common flying, stinging insects that are commonly confused with each other are bees and wasps. Who wants to get up close and personal looking at these insects to try to figure out the differences?
There are some major differences if you look however. Bees for instance are round bodied, covered in hair, while wasps are typically smooth and slim and only have a minimum amount of hair. Bees will typically be found near flowering plants because they are pollinators; they use the pollen as food for their hungry larvae. Whereas wasps are hunting predatory insects. They will commonly go looking for flies and caterpillars to take home to their young.
These two stingers do have commonalities such as feeding on flower nectar, and stinging their aggressors if they feel threatened. Their stings will cause a painful welt and are potentially very dangerous to people with allergies.
You can avoid wasp encounters by always looking before trimming or pruning your trees and bushes. They like to build their nests in hidden places, so look before you cut. Bees like to make their homes in trees as well. Do not attempt to work around these insects as you are likely to get stung, and stung more than once.
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