Today's edition of "Kill it with Fire"

[Red Squirrel]

Wasps, bees, hornets... they all have a stinger that hurts as hell and all make nests that look similar. Who really cares what they are, you just don't want to mess with them.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Wasps, bees, hornets... they all have a stinger that hurts as hell and all make nests that look similar. Who really cares what they are, you just don't want to mess with them.

Bees sting you because you did something to threaten them.


Wasps sting you because you exist.

 

[Ichinisan]

actually I had a swarm off bees decend upon my front yard tree this weekend. Built a huge hive in like a day while my wife and I were out and about. Well I say huge but about 1 foot tall and about 8 inches in diameter and covered with bees. Not sure what to do about it right now.

Call beekeepers until you find one that will pay you to take it. Those things are valuable, but if you don't really care about the money it should be pretty easy to find someone that will take it for free. It will definitely be easier than making a hazmat suit and removing the nest yourself.

You assume they're honeybees. No beekeeper would be interested in wasps.

Don't look like wasps to me, they look like honeybees. Any beekeeper will gladly take that away for you.

lol no.

Yup. Clearly not honeybees. Clearly not anything a beekeeper would be interested in.

 

[Ruptga]

You assume they're honeybees. No beekeeper would be interested in wasps.



Yup. Clearly not honeybees. Clearly not anything a beekeeper would be interested in.

I'm taking HumblePie at his word that they're bees. I haven't known bees to make nests on the outside of trees, but when they're in a kind of passive migratory state (I forget the term for it) they will swarm into a big clump, so given his short description it's certainly possible.

The things in the OP's video are definitely a kind of paper wasp, though someone that has never had the misfortune of dealing with them in person could be forgiven for thinking they're bees.

 

[CZroe]

I'm taking HumblePie at his word that they're bees. I haven't known bees to make nests on the outside of trees, but when they're in a kind of passive migratory state (I forget the term for it) they will swarm into a big clump, so given his short description it's certainly possible.

The things in the OP's video are definitely a kind of paper wasp, though someone that has never had the misfortune of dealing with them in person could be forgiven for thinking they're bees.

I've always considered all wasps to be bees but not all bees to be wasps. I never realized that some people thought differently.

 

[Ichinisan]

I've always considered all wasps to be bees but not all bees to be wasps. I never realized that some people thought differently.

As far as I'm concerned, a wasp is a kind of bee.

Why wouldn't there be an all-encompassing term for "social flying insects that build combs and have stingers."

 

[CZroe]

As far as I'm concerned, a wasp is a kind of bee.

Why wouldn't there be an all-encompassing term for "social flying insects that build combs and have stingers."

Bees and wasps are not always social.

 

[WelshBloke]

As far as I'm concerned, a wasp is a kind of bee.

A wasp is not a type of bee.

 

[PliotronX]

Another key difference between beneficial honeybees and worthless wasps is the latter has mandibles capable of piercing your skin. Some species will kill and takeover honeybee hives, just KIWF ASAP.

 

[ControlD]

If they are yellow jackets, kill them and know you did the world a favor today.

 

[HumblePie]

Well for what happened with me, here are the photos my wife took of them the other day.

 

[Ferzerp]

Those aren't bees. Kill them with fire.

Also, the lack of ability to identify dangerous insects in this thread disturbs me.

 

[Phanuel]

Those look like Bees that Humble has posted. Most likely covering their queen while they find a new home.

 

[Ruptga]

Those look like Bees that Humble has posted. Most likely covering their queen while they find a new home.

I agree. It looks like they're swarming.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarming_(honey_bee)

 

[Ferzerp]

I'm responding to the thread topic, not the random picture of bees in the middle of the thread

 

[Rakehellion]

 

[Jeff7]

I'm going to go with "hornets" here, rather than yellowjackets.


Either way, death is the sentence.




Honey bees: Yes, I would gladly offer them protection. Outside. Away from the house.
They're damn friendly and civil when foraging, but it takes some special devotion to suicide yourself in defense of the nest - and they're quite willing to do it.


Wasps and hornets: Yes, "wasps sting you because you exist.


"The world just doesn't feel like it has enough pain and misery today. Time to get to work!"

 

[HumblePie]

I'm going to go with "hornets" here, rather than yellowjackets.


Either way, death is the sentence.




Honey bees: Yes, I would gladly offer them protection. Outside. Away from the house.
They're damn friendly and civil when foraging, but it takes some special devotion to suicide yourself in defense of the nest - and they're quite willing to do it.


Wasps and hornets: Yes, "wasps sting you because you exist.


"The world just doesn't feel like it has enough pain and misery today. Time to get to work!"

Wasps are actually quite beneficial as well as honey bees. Wasps are the best pest killers out there. Not even spiders come close to the amount of carnage against other insects that wasps dish out. So if you have a nice garden, wasps can help you keep the bad bugs away.

Still, wasps can be very aggressive and sting people so they do have that as a downside to the benefit the provide for being an efficient pest remover.

 

[Phanuel]

I'm responding to the thread topic, not the random picture of bees in the middle of the thread

That's what I figured. It's useful for people to see pictures of both wasps and bees so that they can tell them apart. Bees are useful in nature as a pollination carrier. Wasps also serve a purpose but they do not care for anything that moves.

 

[Ruptga]

Wasps will kill lots of other pests but there are varieties of wasp that aren't very aggressive and still eat a lot of other bugs, such as mud daubers. Kill all the aggressive ones, the nice ones will pick up the slack.

 

[Jeff7]

Wasps are actually quite beneficial as well as honey bees. Wasps are the best pest killers out there. Not even spiders come close to the amount of carnage against other insects that wasps dish out. So if you have a nice garden, wasps can help you keep the bad bugs away.

Still, wasps can be very aggressive and sting people so they do have that as a downside to the benefit the provide for being an efficient pest remover.

If they want to continue being beneficial, they shouldn't be such complete assholes.