bee v. wasp v. hornet v. yellow jacket

• Wasp closeup. Image courtesy of Taringa.net. Bees and wasps are insects in the order Hymenoptera. Bees are members of the superfamily Apoidea. Wasps are Hymenoptera that are neither bees nor ants. (In more narrow, popular usage, wasp may refer only to the family Vespidae.) Hornets and yellow jackets are types of wasps. Hornets belong to the genus Vespa, and yellow jackets fall into the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula.
• Bees have stocky, fuzzy bodies with flat legs for collecting pollen. Wasps have smooth, slender, bodies with narrow waists and skinny legs.
• Bees pollinate plants and produce honey; wasps are predators.
• Only female bees and wasps can sting. The stinger is actually a modified venomous ovipositor. When a honey bee stings a person, the barbed stinger breaks off in the skin, killing the bee. So, honey bees can only sting once. Other bees and wasps can deliver multiple stings.
• Bees feed on nectar and pollen, hornets prey on smaller insects, and yellow jackets are attracted to fruits, sap, nectar, and human food.
• Some species of wasps can be aggressive; most bee species, paper wasps, and hornets aren’t.
• Solitary bees live in underground tunnels or hollows in wood. Social bee nests can be elaborate structures of wax cells built in caves and tree hollows, or on exposed surfaces. Hornets and Dolichovespula yellow jackets form aerial, papery nests on tree limbs or under eaves. Vespula nests are concealed in shrubs, walls, or underground.
• Hornets are large wasps with wide heads. Yellow jackets are smaller and more brightly colored.

How Stuff Works on bee v. wasp

Wikipedia on characteristics of common wasps and bees