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The Dilemma: “What just stung me?!”
People You Can Impress: six-year-olds (maybe)
The Quick Trick: A bee can generally only sting you once, while hornets and wasps can sting multiple times.
The Explanation: The problem with elucidating the difference between wasps and hornets is that, at least according to most definitions of wasps, all hornets are wasps. So here’s the deal:
Bees are fuzzy pollen collectors that almost always die shortly after stinging people (because the stinger becomes embedded in the skin, which prevents multiple stings). Bees don’t die each time they sting, though; the primary purpose of the stinger is to sting other bees, which doesn’t result in the loss of the stinger.
Wasps are members of the family Vespidae, which includes yellow jackets and hornets. Wasps generally have two pairs of wings and are definitely not fuzzy. Only the females have stingers, but they can sting people repeatedly.
Hornets are a small subset of wasps not native to North America (the yellow jacket is not truly a hornet). Somewhat fatter around the middle than your average wasp, the European hornet is now widespread on the East Coast of the U.S. Like other wasps, hornets can sting over and over again and can be extremely aggressive.
The Best Darn Animal Roundup Since Noah!
Monarch Butterfly vs. Viceroy Butterfly: Both butterflies have very similar bright orange markings and excrete a bitter acid that makes them taste terrible. But only the monarch flies thousands of miles south in the winter.
Snail vs. Slug: Snails have telltale spiral shells; slugs have shells, too, but they’re invisible because they’re located inside their bodies.
Donkey vs. Mule: A mule is the offspring of a female horse (that is, a mare) and a jackass (that is, either a male donkey or Johnny Knoxville). Mules are sterile and slow, but they’re also strong and hard- working. A donkey is an animal closely related to the horse (obviously, since they can mate), but donkeys are smaller and have longer ears. (See also Eeyore.)
Llama vs. Emu: Both are newly domesticated farm animals, but that’s where the similarity ends: Llamas belong to the camel family, while emus are birds related to ostriches. But the two animals do have one thing in common: crankiness. When llamas get annoyed, which is frequently, they spit up their own stomach acid. And emus are largely solitary animals that don’t like too much human company.
Mighty Mouse vs. Mickey Mouse: Mickey was created in the 1920s by Walt Disney, while Mighty (a Terrytoons character) wasn’t born until 1942. Mickey has no superpowers, while Mighty is excellent at flying and has X-ray vision.
This post was excerpted from the mental_floss book What’s the Difference? For more columns like this, click here.
Comments (11)
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I didn’t know that difference. I thought they all were bees! That is wasps and hornets. You learn something new everyday. Thanks.
posted by Rogbog4299 on 9-25-2008 at 6:04 am
“the primary purpose of the stinger is to sting other bees”. What is the purpose of stinging other bees?
posted by Sko on 9-25-2008 at 7:17 am
You define a mule as being the result when a mare (a female horse) is impregnated by a jack (a male donkey), but you don’t mention that you also is possible for a jenny (a female donkey) to be impregnated by a stallion (a male horse).
In that case, you get a hinney. Hinneys are smaller than mules, have shorter ears (but still longer than a horse). The coloration is the same, and the shape of the head is more similar to, the sire, for both mule and hinney.
Hinneys are relatively rare, partly because they aren’t usually wanted. Stallions and jennies are pickier about sexual partners than mares and jacks, and even if they mate, jennies are less likely to conceive of a stallion than mares are of a jack.
Both the mule and the hinney is usually sterile; one in a million ends up being fertile.
posted by Harl Delos on 9-25-2008 at 7:51 am
a male donkey or johnny knoxville
nicely done haha
great article. i always have issues calming kids down when they dont understand that if you bother a bee they will sting you. so just chill and they will go away
posted by Vicky on 9-25-2008 at 8:27 am
I can understand the inclusion of the bees v. wasps, mule v. donkey, and the butterfly one is sublime.
But what’s up with the llama v. emu or mighty v. mickey? Does anyone here not know the difference? Did you just get bored? Needed some filler?
Also, it’s not right to say that a slug has its shell on the inside and then not explain yourself.
posted by BassMan on 9-25-2008 at 8:56 am
Llama vs Emu??? Seriously??
How about llama vs alpaca??
posted by Heather Dawn on 9-25-2008 at 9:03 am
Another difference between bees and wasps is that wasps can kill me, bees can not. I realize this is mostly just important to me (and maybe whomever needs to go run for my Epi Pen) but, ya know… I find it interesting. :-)
posted by mandapanda on 9-25-2008 at 9:15 am
Disappointing article!
Your definitions of bees vs. wasps leave a lot to be desired. Bees, like wasps, have two sets of wings, and most species of bees besides honeybees also have smooth stingers. You also mention male wasps cannot sting, without mentioning that male bees are sting-less as well. The purpose of stings is defense against ANY attackers, not just to sting other bees; although a bee with a barbed sting can sting other bees without harm to itself. In addition, bees and wasps have a lot of other differences you fail to mention. For instance, bees are usually more gentle than wasps, and most bees eat only nectar, while wasps eat other insects.
posted by Christina on 9-25-2008 at 9:21 am
Knowing the difference is great but to be honest if you got stung in North America (and you weren’t doing something idiotic) then you were most likely stung by a wasp, specifically a yellowjacket, the most prevalent type of wasp on the continent.
(recaptcha: in Netherland)
posted by Ben E. on 9-25-2008 at 9:29 am
This was just a test it seems to see how smaert we are and if we really read everything here …
It just has to Bee……
posted by Paul on 9-25-2008 at 9:44 am
Also could have mentioned the fact that wasps bite!!
posted by Ben on 9-25-2008 at 11:46 am