Stinging insects

Telling a honey bee from a yellowjacket changes both the urgency and the right response — one is a protected pollinator, the other is aggressive near its nest in late summer.

Yellowjacket

Bright, sharply defined yellow and black banding with a smooth, hairless, glossy body. A honey bee is fuzzy an…

Professional recommended

Paper wasp

Long, slender body with a very narrow waist, 16 to 25 mm, usually brown with yellow or reddish markings.…

Identify and monitor first

Honey bee

Body is densely covered in fine hairs, giving a fuzzy appearance, and the colouring is muted golden-brown to a…

Professional recommended

Carpenter bee

The top of the abdomen is shiny, black, and hairless — this is the decisive separator from a bumble bee, whose…

Prevention usually resolves this

Mud dauber

The waist is extremely long and thread-like, far more elongated than any other common wasp — this alone identi…

Prevention usually resolves this

Bumble bee

The entire abdomen is densely furry, including the top — this is the decisive separator from a carpenter bee, …

Identify and monitor first

Reviewed by AgainstPest Editorial Team Last reviewed: 2026-08-17