Bees & Wasps
Bees and wasps range from gentle pollinators to fiercely defensive nest-builders. These guides cover honey bees, bumblebees, hornets, yellowjackets, and paper wasps, their behavior, nests, and how to stay safe around them. (22 guides.)
Bees & WaspsRead article →Where Do Paper Wasps Live? Under Eaves and in WoodlandsWhere do paper wasps live? Mostly wherever there's a dry overhang and something to hunt nearby. Paper wasps (family Vespidae, genus Polistes ) build open, umbrella-shaped combs of
Bees & WaspsRead article →Top 10 Facts About Bumblebees: Buzz Pollination, ColoniesTop 10 facts about bumblebees that you need to know start with one most people miss: a bumblebee can unlock pollen that a honeybee typically leaves behind. Genus Bombus includes ro
Bees & WaspsRead article →What Is the Life Cycle of Hornets? One Queen, Four StagesWhat is the life cycle of hornets? It runs through four stages, egg, larva, pupa, and adult, and the whole colony restarts from a single mated queen every spring. Unlike a honeybee
Bees & WaspsRead article →Where Do Hornets Live? Nest Sites From Trees to BurrowsWhere do hornets live? It depends on the species. The bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) hangs its gray paper nest in a tree or under a roofline, while the European hornet
Bees & WaspsRead article →What Do Hornets Eat? Prey, Nectar and Tree Sap by SeasonWhat do hornets eat? Adult hornets hunt other insects for protein, then switch to nectar, tree sap and honeydew for their own energy. The two diets stay separate for a reason: adul
Bees & WaspsRead article →Where Do Bumblebees Live? Nests, Range, and Climate LimitsWhere do bumblebees live? Mostly in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, nesting underground in abandoned rodent burrows, under grass tussocks, or in compost heaps and old
Bees & WaspsRead article →What Do Yellowjackets Eat? Prey, Sweets, and CarrionWhat Do Yellowjackets Eat? The short answer is two different diets under one roof: the grubs back in the nest need protein, and the adult wasps flying around your picnic table are
Bees & WaspsRead article →What Do Paper Wasps Eat? Chewed Prey, Nectar, and HoneydewWhat do paper wasps eat? Adults run on a liquid, sugar-based diet, while the colony's larvae need protein. Workers hunt caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects, chew them into a
Bees & WaspsRead article →What Is the Life Cycle of Yellowjackets? Four Stages, One SeasonWhat Is the Life Cycle of Yellowjackets? It runs through four stages, egg, larva, pupa, and adult, and the entire colony collapses after a single season. A lone mated queen starts
Bees & WaspsRead article →Where Do Yellowjackets Live? From Burrows to AtticsWhere do yellowjackets live? Most colonies start in an abandoned rodent burrow, though the same wasps will just as readily move into a wall void, an attic, or a hollow log if the s