Bees, Wasps and the like

Somewhat recently I was randomly stung by a bee.  I've been stung a couple times before but this one was quite strange.  I had just finished some golfing and we had been driving for a few minutes with the windows down when I felt a sharp prick on my neck.  Somehow I had brought along an unhappy guest and he had been biding his time before he decided to sting me!  I quickly swatted it away and it died shortly after but it had me thinking about the differences between our stinging (usually non) friends.

Most people have probably heard that bees can only sting you once before dying and I found that apparently this is true.  Wasps on the other hand often are able to sting multiple times.  The insects that are commonly known as hornets and yellow jackets actually fall under the category of wasps.  I learned that there are actually several categories and many different species of wasps.

In general the way to tell the difference between a bee and a wasp is that bees are often hairy (though some aren't) whereas wasps are mostly hairless.  Wasps also usually have more elongated bodies.  Bees collect pollen from flowers and have a diet of nectar and pollen.  Yellow jackets are the ones that tend to be the most annoying to humans as they'll show up around people eating food outside and around garbage.

Some other random facts I learned.  Only females can sting because apparently the stinger is "a modified egg laying apparatus".  Some wasps primarily feed on other insects.  Parasitic wasps lay their eggs in/on other insects, killing the host as the offspring develop.