Honeybees and paper wasps are similar in several ways. They both belong to the insect order Hymenoptera. Both honeybees and paper wasps are social insects. They live in a colony with a queen and many workers. Both honeybees and paper wasps can deliver a painful sting.
There are several important differences between paper wasps and honeybees. Paper wasps make their nests from paper-like material that they make from wood. The sweet food that wasps eat is often honeydew or fruit juice. For protein, wasps eat insects. Honeybees on the other hand, get almost everything they need from flowers.
Honeybee workers collect nectar from flowers. They use the nectar to make honey and wax. When they gather it, the nectar contains sugar and a lot of water. The honeybees place the nectar in their nest. They add some enzymes and then they fan their wings to circulate the air. This causes most of the water to evaporate. After the water evaporates, what is left is honey. During the year, a colony of honeybees can make almost 70 pounds of honey.
The honeybees store most of the honey to use for food in the winter. Workers in the nest eat some of the honey. Scientists think that the honey causes the workers to produce small wafers of wax from special glands on their bodies. They chew this wax to make it soft. Then they use it to build their combs.
Honeybees also collect pollen from flowers. Adult honeybees eat pollen when they emerge from the larva stage. The workers mix pollen with honey and feed it to the developing larvae. Many people call this mixture “bee bread”.
Honeybee workers can carry balls of pollen on their back legs. As the honeybees move from flower to flower, they also collect pollen in the hair on their bodies. They spread this pollen from plant to plant. This enables the plants to develop. Honeybees pollinate many plants, from orchids to tobacco. Because of their pollinating, honeybees add millions of dollars in value to crops every year.
There is a myth that says that it is illegal to kill honeybees. Because they pollinate many crops and make honey, honeybees are called beneficial insects. Scientists recommend that when honeybees make their nest in or near a human home, the homeowner should try to get a beekeeper to come remove them. The local office of the Extension Service may be able to provide a phone number of a local beekeeper.