#BUMBLE BEE STINGER HOW TO#
#BUMBLE BEE STINGER SKIN#

Bumble bees are usually docile and gentle they have zero interest in stinging people and will attack only if threatened. If we take into account the ability to sting multiple times, bumble bees seem more dangerous, but that’s not true. The stinger of a bumble bee is smooth so it doesn’t get stuck, which means that a bumble bee can sting several times.

#BUMBLE BEE STINGER SKIN#

Honey bee stinger has barbs so it gets stuck in the skin and unfortunately pulls out bee’s intestine when the bee tries to leave. This difference is due to how their stinger is shaped. Honey bee stings only once, but bumble bee sting several times. There is a big difference in how honey bees and bumble bees sting. But, do bumble bees sting the same as honey bees? Surprisingly, no. Like we mentioned, both honey bees and bumble bees can sting. Moreover, bumble bees are not big on producing honey as its enough only for their needs. She survives the winter by hibernating in the ground. Unfortunately, bumble bee colony doesn’t survive the winter and the queen is the only member of the colony surviving winter. A honey bee colony differs from this only if it is weakened due to starvation or illness. Bumble bee nest is often found in burrows or holes in the ground.Īs their name suggests, honey bees produce honey and their colonies survive the winter. Wild honey bee nest can be located anywhere from cracks in the wall and hollow trees to bee nests hanging from tree branches.ĭomesticated honey bee hives are hives kept and cared for by the beekeeper. Honey bees are very social and live in colonies that can have tens of thousands of bees, while bumble bee colonies usually have only a few hundred bees.īumble bee nests can only be found in the wild, while honey bee hives can be wild or domesticated. There is a big difference in how bumble bees and honey bees live. Both make a buzzing noise as they fly and have transparent wings, but the honey bee’s flight has a higher-pitched hum.Īnother very noticeable difference is that honey bees have a clear distinction between head and body, while bumble bees have a “one-piece body”. Long tongues enable them to collect nectar even from flowers whose nectar is closed in a tube. Honey bees have short tongues so they mainly pollinate open flowers, while bumble bees have long tongues. The colors you can see on a bumble bee are orange, yellow, and/or black. Unlike honey bees, bumble bees have only a few stripes of color and usually have part of their body covered in black fur. Honey bee body is covered in many colored stripes, including several grey stripes on the abdomen. Their body is large and broad with a rounded abdomen tip, while honey bees are smaller and thinner. Physical characteristicsīumble bees vary in appearance but generally have round bodies covered in soft hair called pile which is the reason they appear fuzzy.

#BUMBLE BEE STINGER HOW TO#

In order to know how to handle a bees nest, you need to be able to differentiate bumble bees vs honey bees. Usually, the only encounter with bees is noticing them hanging around flowers but they can also decide to make a nest close to your home which can disturb you and your pets. Honey bees and bumble bees look similar and many people tend to mix them up. Bees have different habitat, pollination habits, behaviors, and physical characteristics. Which one is it - bumble bee or honey bee?Įven though insects from the family of bees have many similarities, they also differ in many things. If you just want to find out the answer jump to the section: Through this article you will learn how to recognize bumble bees, what to expect with the bumble bee sting, and how to avoid it. A common thing for all bees is that only female bees (queens and workers) have a stinger, and bumble bees are no different. Not every sting is the same, and bumble bee sting is different than a sting from a honey bee. Bumble bees are usually peaceful but will attack if provoked.Ī simple answer to ‘do bumble bees sting’ is yes, but there is more to that.

However, sometimes our encounters with them are not pleasant. They are some of the best pollinators so it’s essential to protect them.

Honey bees are known for honey production, but also for their sting.īumble bees we mostly only know as fuzzy and bigger honey bees, but they are much more than that. However, the most famous bees are surely honey bees and bumble bees.

Bees are a big family with over 20,000 species which includes insects such as honey bees, carpenter bees, stingless bees, cuckoo bees, and many more.

Bumble bee stinger