Bee Identification

For most people its not normally necessary to need to know  the difference between a bee and a wasp or a bee and a hover fly, or a honey bee and a bumble bee, but for those that find themselves needing to know hopefully we can help you out.
Between May and August we often get calls about bees which are in fact native bumble bees, nesting in compost heaps or under peoples decks, they are the larger furry species and are best left alone, they die back in winter.
We also receive an enormous number of calls describing Tree bumblebees, a recent import from Europe whose success has been staggering (probably at the expense of something native). It seems that every year we receive more and more calls about these. Our recommendation with these is to remove and relocate the nest, only where they can not be accessed should the use of insecticide be considered. There are many that advise leaving them in situ, we used to give this advise but have changed it as a result of customer feedback and experience. These invasive Tree Bees can become very aggressive at certain times in their nests life cycle.

If you see a swarm of bees hanging on a tree or bush they are actually honey bees waiting for scout bees to report back with news of a permanent home, and will often leave in a few hours or days, they are unlikely to be aggressive if left undisturbed. We are always keen to hear of these and recommend contacting your local bee keeping associations swarm liaison officer

Below are some images to help you distinguish between bees, wasps and hornets.

Wasps and hornets

Wasps and hornets do not collect pollen and bring it back to their hives attached to their back legs as can be seen by the bee in the image at the top of the page ~ only bees do that. So if you see bright yellow lumps on the legs this will help in bee identification.

Wasps are usually a litle bit larger than honey bees and are commonly found pests at picnics and outdoor catering areas. Wasps and hornets are omnivores and will eat both your sandwich and drink your pop. Wasps will nest in a variety of locations, they can be found nesting in the ground, garden sheds, thick bushes attic spaces and the list goes on. At the end of summer as the nest is dying they tend to become more aggressive as food for the workers is no longer produced in the nest and sting more frequently.
The biggest separator in bee identification is that wasps have bright yellow stripes whereas honey bees have dull banding this helps a lot to separate the two in bee identification.