Honey Bees, Hornets and Wasps, Knowing the Difference and What to be Concerned About

Spring and summer sees an increase in bee activity, tirelessly working to prepare for the winter. However, bees are not all the same, by species, they perform very different functions and benefit nature in so many unique ways. Unfortunately, some bee species can be pests and do pose a threat to the safety of people and animals. Knowing what type of bee species you’re currently dealing with will help to determine how best to deal with them and whether professional services are required to help contain a bee problem. 

People often assume all bees are dangerous and are fearful of their presence due to their ability to sting. It is true that most bee species have stingers and will sting when bothered, but for honey bees this is less often an occurrence than hornets or wasps since honey bees will die as a result of using their stinger and generally save such and act for an attack on their hive. 

Honey bees are also fairly docile and are more concerned with gathering pollen and nectar during the growing season. They don’t pay much attention to what’s going on around them just as long as nothing is endangering the hive. Unfortunately, with the recent introduction of certain systemic pesticides over the past 10 years have been shown to affect honey bees resulting in mass disappearance of hives called colony collapse disorder. If the bees are wasps or hornets then they will require careful extermination from a expert service of pest control Adelaide.

Other species of bees like yellow jackets, hornets and wasps are extremely aggressive and can sting multiple times without killing themselves. These types of bees are the usual suspects of everyday bee stings and ones that people need to be concerned with. Since wasps and hornets are carnivores, they seek out other insects to feed upon to help feed the larva in their bee colonies. 

By doing so they help keep other garden pets in check like caterpillars etc. Later their diets may change to include sugars as their natural foods become more scarce, that’s when you will find them flying around your picnic table or garbage cans during the late summer. A few bees can be a nuisance but a large nest of them can pose a serious health hazard, especially to those people who may be allergic to bee stings. 

By late summer, an aggressive wasp colony can contain up to thousands of bees that will aggressively attack intruders in and around their nests. They can be easily provoked and will attack in force, often times chasing the assumed threat for large distances. Certain sounds and vibrations, like those from a mower or yard trimmer, can trigger a wasp attack, even from a distance to the nest.

If a wasp nest poses an immediate threat to people and pets, then it will be necessary to think about how to get rid of a wasp nest. It’s important to be sure to identify which species of bees you’re attempting to deal with. You don’t want to accidentally destroy a nest of bees that is beneficial to the environment 

Many bee species will find refuge inside walls, attics or under roof-eves. This will most likely require some control or removal. If they are honey bees then you can often find a local bee keeper willing to remove the bees for free. They will capture the entire hive and transplant the hive to harvest honey or to be used as pollinators for farmers.