What Do Bees Look Like?

Bees tend to be pretty fat little insects. They tend to be hairy, and if the insect you see is hairy, it’s definitely a bee and not a wasp. Honey bees have yellow and black stripes. Other bees can have a variety of colors, from straight black to straight yellow, with some blue and green varieties, too.

What Do Wasps Look Like?

Wasps are thinner insects, especially at their waist, which is pinched. They are hairless. They come in many colors, though the most common stinging wasps (yellowjackets and paper wasps) are also yellow and black.

• Most wasps develop by feeding on insects. Bees develop on a diet of nectar or pollen.
• Almost all insect stings result from yellowjackets and an insect newly established in the state, the European paper wasp.
• Yellowjackets, hornets and paper wasps make nests of paper. Honey bees and bumblebees make nests of wax. Solitary bees and wasps nest in holes in the ground, rotten wood or natural cavities. Some wasps even make mud nests.