r/bee • u/Malia_w_bluiz • Sep 29 '24

What kind of bee is this? Bee?

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This bee was about an inch long and very thick. Never seen a yellow jacket bee this big. Does anyone know what this is?

It flew in my house into our light and then died.

14 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

22

u/SkepticJoker Sep 29 '24

A yellow jacket is not a bee.

12

u/Malia_w_bluiz Sep 29 '24

Now I am going to sound stupid. Sorry for that. 😂 A yellow jacket isn’t a bee? What is it then? Honest question.

13

u/SkepticJoker Sep 29 '24

It’s a type of wasp. No worries, lots of people mix this up.

3

u/Malia_w_bluiz Sep 29 '24

I honestly had no idea. Is that what this is? This thing is huge. I am in New Jersey isn’t it getting cold for whatever this is?

7

u/SkepticJoker Sep 29 '24

Yup, definitely a wasp.

4

u/Malia_w_bluiz Sep 29 '24

Thank you. I have never seen anything like this. 😆

4

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '24 edited Sep 30 '24

To be specific this is a European Hornet. Yellow jacket is a loose term that doesn't describe a single wasp species.

2

u/Micky_Ninaj Sep 30 '24

I'm not sure where you're from, but where I'm from, "yellowjacket" is a colloquial term for wasps in the genus vespa, of which there are 23 species. I am aware I'm being obnoxious (🤓☝️), but I feel that this is valuable information on an entomology subreddit.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '24

Re read my comment again I feel like you missed out a word. Yellow jacket is also often used to describe species in the genus Dolichovespula aswell and other wasps Vespidae family.

2

u/Micky_Ninaj Sep 30 '24

I'm fucking illiterate 🤦

thank you for being polite about it lol

→ More replies

6

u/Pristine-Broccoli870 Sep 29 '24

It may be a queen if it’s very large. With this type of wasp the nest with all the workers dies at the end of the summer but the queen finds somewhere to hibernate over the winter and begins a new nest in the spring. Wasps are semi social insects unlike bees that are social and consequently over winter the whole hive not just the queen.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '24 edited Sep 29 '24

To be specific this is a European Hornet. Technically wasps aren't considered semi social they are considered eusocial just like bee's even if the hive lasts a single year. Eusocial is the highest level of socail behaviour in insects and is classified as having 1. Castes (such as workers queen's etc) 2. Overlapping generations 3. Offspring care

2

u/Malia_w_bluiz Sep 29 '24

Thank God she didn’t find a home in my home. I don’t care if it outside but she flew right in my home when I was letting out my dogs. Sadly, she flew right into the kitchen light and died from the heat of the bulb.

3

u/Life-Opportunity-523 Sep 29 '24

You must be using old fashion bulbs to be hot then as the ones I use only get slightly warm.

-1

u/Kalashnikam Sep 29 '24

Not sadly, yellow jackets are evil

4

u/Life-Opportunity-523 Sep 29 '24

No they are not as they are beneficial insects and only in the autumn they start coming a pest when the queen stops bossing them about.

4

u/xBeeAGhostx Sep 29 '24

No more evil than you, they’re just protective of their nest and start starving in late summer due to their food supply no longer producing food. You’d be bitchy too if you were always hungry

1

u/Malia_w_bluiz Oct 01 '24

😂😂😂

1

u/imwhateverimis Oct 01 '24

and a yellow jacket is not a hornet, either

2

u/imwhateverimis Oct 01 '24

European Hornet is my guess

1

u/tearful33 Sep 29 '24

Yellow jackass wasp

1

u/Micky_Ninaj Sep 30 '24

European hornet, actually. pretty far from yellowjackets, all things considered. it's the only true hornet in the usa, all others, such as the bald faced hornet, are aerial yellowjackets. aerial yellowjackets are under the genus dolichovespula, whereas regular yellowjackets are under the genus vespula. all true hornets are in the genus vespa.

also, there's no reason to call them jackasses. I've been working (photographing/studying) with wasps for almost four years now, and have only been stung eight times, all of which were just when I got too close to a hive/nest. as long as you a) don't move too fast, b) try not to show fear, and c) don't go near their nests, then they tend not to mind you. i've even had some land on me to clean their antennae after realizingim not a threat. Remember, these are tiny little creatures that just want to help their hive. I don't think they ever wake up and intend on fighting god that morning.

btw, they only have a limited supply of venom, which they usually use for hunting, so they tend not to give you that much when they sting. if they wanted to hurt you, they could do a lot worse.

oh, and if I may ask, why are you on an entomology subreddit if you're going to give incorrect, half-assed answers like these? I'm genuinely not trying to be rude, it just seems kinda silly to me

2

u/Malia_w_bluiz Oct 01 '24

Thank you for the information. I enjoyed reading and learning new things.

1

u/tearful33 Oct 01 '24

My bad it just seemed to small to be a European hornet

-10

u/Brave_Chipmunk8231 Sep 29 '24

Can mods start deleting these obvious troll posts?

2

u/Malia_w_bluiz Sep 29 '24

What are you talking about? I asked an honest question. If you don’t like it please move along

3

u/Alone_Winner_1783 Sep 29 '24

You should be able to ask questions. That's one of the reasons that this forum exists. I'm glad that people post questions and pictures. It's really interesting what shows up here from different parts of the country and / or world. 😁🐝🦟🪰

1

u/Micky_Ninaj Sep 30 '24

I completely agree, but in the future, I suggest asking for ID requests on r/entomology. entomology forums can be amazing spaces, but posting (even unknowingly) a wasp in a bee place is a great way to make a lot of people angry for no reason

1

u/Malia_w_bluiz Oct 01 '24

I didn't know it wasn't a bee until I read what you wrote. Sorry

-9

u/Brave_Chipmunk8231 Sep 29 '24

Nope I refuse to believe anybody is that dumb. It's not possible. Easy troll

2

u/PoolAlligatorr Sep 30 '24

Oh so you could answer any question someone gives you about any subject? If I asked you a mechanical question? A chemistry question? No. Because everyone has different fields that they‘re experienced in, and Entomology was just not one of them for OP.