Introduction
Bees, wasps and hornets belong to the insect order Hymenoptera. Ants are also well-known members of this order. There are two common characterisitics
of Hymenoptera that make them frequent pests to people - many families are social insects and most inject venom when provoked. We often find stinging insects annoying and painful, and for people with an allergy to the
venom, these insects may be life-threatening. However, bees, wasps and hornets do serve important functions - in nature and for us.
Unfortunately, honeybees and bumblebees are currently threatened by mites. The mites attach themselves to the back of
their host, making foraging difficult. A badly infected colony may suffer noticably from diminished productivity. E
very bee colony has a characterisitic chemical marker, similar to a personal scent. Most intruders can be detected, because they lack the colony's "scent" and are attacked upon
entering the nest. However, invading mites are so closely linked to host bees that they often go undetected. Even so, if the mite is attacked, its host will also be killed. Once a
colony is infested it is usually unable to eradicate mites. |
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Both honey bees and bumble bees are important pollinators. Wildflowers and garden flowers benefit from their services, and so do many commercial food crops. Apiculturists, or bee keepers, maintain hives of honey
or bumble bees which can be transported to farmers' fields when crops are ready for pollination. The mouthparts of bees, called tongues, vary in length between species. This makes it advantages for
different bees to extract nectar selectively from only certain flowers. Pollen is also gathered on bees' hind legs, forming visible pollen sacs. As they work, pollen
grains are carried from flower to flower accomplishing pollination. Honey bees are also commercially valuable due to their production of honey and wax, but pollination remains their most monetarily beneficial service.
Wasps and hornets are also valuable insects, acting as natural pesticides. That may sound ironic to us, but these stinging predators help control other insect populations, such as caterperpillars and flies, which
they capture to feed their young. Wasps and hornets may also take sweet liquids, including nectar, when not rearing young. Social Hymenoptera
Social insects form colonies with a caste system that includes a single queen and workers.The size and location of a colony varries depending on the species of insect
and on the success of the colony. Honey bee colonies can survive from season to season if established in a favorable area. Most species' colonies are annual. Only
newly produced mated queens survive from one year to the next, overwintering in some protected niche. When a queen, called a foundress, emerges in the spring,
she searches for a suitable nest site. She will forage only for her own food, devoting the rest of her efforts to the construction of the nest. As soon as a single nest cell is
built, the queen lays her first egg. She tends the egg while continuing to build and forage. More eggs will be deposited as soon as additional nest cells are made. All of
these eggs will develop into workers. The workers will eventually take over gathering of food for the colony, nest maintenance and "nursery" duties from the queen. At this
time the queen will cease all these functions, devoting her energies entirely to laying eggs.
One thing all social insects have in common, is their devotion to protecting the nest and queen. Workers will attack a
perceived invader and emit a chemical signal that alerts fellow colonists of the threat and brings reinforcements. This is one reason that stinging insects swarm - and why nest
removal can be dangerous. While most bees, wasps and hornets are able to sting repeatedly, honey bees die after
delivering a single sting. A honey bee's stinger is barbed.
Rather than pulling smoothly out of its victim, it is pulled from the bee, rupturing its abdomen. The venom sac remains attached to the stinger and continues to pump
venom until the stinger is removed. Regardless of the means used, it should be promptly removed to minimize physical reaction. |
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All workers are female. Only females, both queens and workers, are able to sting. A stinger is actually a modified ovipositor, an egg depositing appendage. Although all workers are sterile, every one possesses an
ovipositor, which they will use for defensive purposes. Males of any hymenopteran species do not sting.The sex and social status of developing larvae is determined by chemical signals in the food larvae are given. In
the late summer or fall, when the colony is nearing the end of its life, some larvae will be fed a special diet. A number of young will become male drones and others will develop into queens.
Generally, new queens and drones leave the nest as soon as they are able. They forage only for themselves. The sole purpose of the drones is to mate, helping to provide queens with the genetic
material they will need for next season's colonies. Drones are killed in the process of mating (they are essentially stung) or will die at the end of the season.
Queens mate with as many males as possible. The sperm is stored in a sac specifically for this function. Each queen will carry enough reproductive material to
last all of the following season if she survives the winter and begins a new colony next spring. Only newly emerging queens will over-winter. All members of a colony will die
by the end of the season, including their queens. Solitary Hymenoptera
HYMENOPTRIVIA
- Apiphobia - fear of bees
- Bees, wasps & hornets deliver more than 1 million stings annually in the U.S.
- Only 1-3% of these people suffer from a generalized allergic reaction
- Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets account for about twice as many allergic reactions as honey bees
- Allergic reaction to wasp and bee stings cause about 100 deaths in the U.S.every year.
- Some people voluntarily received regular honey bee sting treatments, called apiotherapy, to combat rhumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
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Solitary stinging insects do not tend to pose as great a threat as their social relatives, because they are acting singly. However, their nesting habits can cause other problems. For
instance, carpenter bees can excavate extensive tunnels in wooden furniture, piles of lumber or other wood structures and ultimately weaken them. Cicada killers and mining bees
burrow in the ground, where they deposit their eggs and prey for developing larvae. Even though the queens of these insects are acting alone, they can ruin lawns and gardens. Mud
daubers often attach their nests, constructed of tubular mud cells, to attic rafters, walls of out-buildings or on the side of a house. They may respond to intruders, but a secondary
problem can result. Certain types of beetles, dermestids, may establish themselves within the nest cells, feeding on larval skins and the remains of spiders or other prey.
Carpet and cabinet beetles are types of dermestids. Infestations in the home can originate in the nests of mud daubers (as well as other insect nests).Back to Top
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