The main difference between yellow jacket and honey bee is that a yellow jacket has a smooth and shiny body, whereas a honey bee has hairs or fuzz on their bodies.
Yellow jacket and honey bee are two insects with similar morphological characteristics.
Key Areas Covered
1. What Yellow Jacket
– Definition, Structure, Importance
2. What is Honey Bee
– Definition, Structure, Importance
3. Similarities Between Yellow Jacket and Honey Bee
– Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Yellow Jacket and Honey Bee
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Yellow Jacket, Honey Bee
What is Yellow Jacket
Yellow jacket is a predatory social wasp from the genera Vespula or Dolichovespula. The eastern yellow jacket and aerial yellowjacket that are black and yellow and the bald-faced hornet that is black and white are examples of yellow jackets. Therefore, different types of yellow jacket insects can be identified according to their coloration. In addition to distinct coloration, identifying yellow jackets is easy with their occurrence of colonies and flight patterns. Typically, the size of the yellow jacket worker is 12 mm. Also, it has altering bands on the abdomen. However, their queen is large, and its size is about 19 mm. A yellow jacket is a type of wasp. Therefore, it is not a type of bee.
Figure 1: Yellow Jacket
Furthermore, the stingers of the yellow jacket are lance-like and contain small barbs. A characteristic feature of yellow jackets is their continuous stinging. Also, the stinger contains venom, which can be primarily dangerous. The faces of all species of yellow jackets contain yellow and white colors. Additionally, they contain strong mouthparts that are well-developed for capturing and chewing. Mostly, they feed on fruit, meat, sugars, and insects. They also have proboscis to suck nectar. Further, they build nests in trees, shrubs, soil cavities, and mouse burrows.
What is Honey Bee
The honey bee is a eusocial flying insect that belongs to the genus Apis. One of the characteristic features of honey bees is the production of perennial, colonial nests from wax in large sizes. Further, they produce and store honey. Honey is a foraging target of honey gatherers, bears, and honey badgers. However, only eight honey bee species are found, with 43 subspecies. Also, it is a type of bee, while roughly 20 000 species of bees are found worldwide. The common domesticated type of honey bee is the Western honey bee, while the eastern honey bee is also domesticated.
Figure 2: Western Honey Bee
Moreover, the coloration of honey bees is somewhat variable, but it is brown with a banded dull yellow abdomen. Also, the honey bee’s head, thorax, and abdomen are densely covered with hair. Around the eyes and legs contain more hair. Like yellow jackets, a single queen is dominated by a large hive. Male worker bees are smaller than the queen. Mainly, honey bees feed on the nectar of flowers. Also, the collected nectar and pollen feed the developing bee larvae.
Similarities Between Yellow Jacket and Honey Bee
- Yellow jacket and honey bee are two insects with similar morphological characteristics.
- They have similar coloring, black and yellow variations.
- They can inhabit wall voids.
Difference Between Yellow Jacket and Honey Bee
Definition
Yellow jacket refers to any of several social wasps of the genus Vespa, having yellow markings on the body. In contrast, a honey bee refers to a bee of a type that collects nectar and pollen, produces wax and honey, and lives in large communities.
Type
The yellow jacket is a wasp, while the honey bee is a bee.
Body
Yellow jacket has a smooth and shiny body, while honey bee has hairs or fuzz on their bodies.
Color
The yellow jacket has black and bright yellow, while the honey bee has an amber-to-brown color.
Feeds on
Yellow jacket feeds on insects, fruits, meats, and sugars, while honey bees feed on the nectar of flowers.
Stinging
Yellow jacket stings multiple times, while honey bee stings only once and dies.
Behavior
Yellow jacket is very aggressive, while the honey bee is gentle unless the hive is threatened.
Conclusion
In brief, yellow jacket and honey bee are two insects with similar coloration. A yellow jacket is a wasp with a smooth and shiny body. Its color is black and bright yellow. It feeds on fruits, insects, meats, and sugars. Also, it stings multiple times and has aggressive behavior. In comparison, a honey bee is a bee with hairs or fuzz on their bodies. It is amber to brown. It mostly feeds on flowers. But it stings only once. Also, it is gentle in behavior. Therefore, the main difference between yellow jacket and honey bee is their body.
References:
- Yellow Jacket. NatureMapping. (n.d.).
- Honey Bee. The Australian Museum. (n.d.).
Image Courtesy:
- “European wasp white bg” By Yug – Own work (GFDL 1.2) via Commons Wikimedia
- “The Lone Pollinator” By Tanner Smida – Own Work (CC-BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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