Differences of a bumblebee from a bee and a wasp. Important information about bees, wasps and bumblebees, what is their difference in behavior and life activity? Habitat for bees, wasps and bumblebees

Bees are perhaps one of the most interesting insects on our planet. No other species has been able to win the love and respect of man so much. These tireless workers, although already quite well studied, still do not cease to amaze us. What are the most remarkable bees: interesting facts from their life, let's find out together.

From the life of bees

Probably everyone knows that bees are small and very hardworking insects. But I want to ask a question - what interesting facts about bees do we know? What else is so unusual in their lives that we are surprised and admired? There are some interesting facts that everyone should know.

Winged architects

Have you ever seen a honeycomb? As you know, they are made by insects from wax, which is secreted by special glands. In combs, they lay pollen, store honey, and also raise offspring. However, not everything is so simple with these unusual hexagonal buildings. Without using rulers and other computing tools, winged workers surprisingly manage to build perfectly even and correct hexagons according to all mathematical laws. Where the bees-architects have such amazing abilities, one can only guess.

The hexagonal shape of the cell has a trihedral bottom, which is simultaneously part of the bottom of the three chambers on the opposite side of the comb. The transverse diameter of each chamber is 5.37 mm - no more, no less. Each cell has its own constant depth: 10 mm in the southern regions and 12 mm in the northern ones.

As scientists have found out, this form of a hexagonal hollow prism was chosen for a reason, because only 1 cm2. honeycomb can fit up to 8000 cells.

Amazing bee venom

Many have probably heard about a special type of therapy - bee venom. People suffering from joint pain often use the stings of these insects. So, the basis of the poison is the melittin toxin, but few people know that its action is so strong that it can suppress the spread of HIV in the blood. This has already been proven by modern scientists, having discovered another riddle of bees. Melittin manages to break through the protective shell of the virus and completely destroy it.

In addition, bee venom toxin increases the production of anti-inflammatory hormone in the human body. Therefore, it can be successfully used for pain relief, as well as to increase the healing of injuries and injuries. For example, already in the USA, melittin is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

flower dances

Have you ever wondered how the bees know what flowers to pick, where to fly, and what to do in general? It turns out that in addition to their language of communication, they transmit information by body movements, that is, by a kind of dance. With various movements, scout insects show each other the distances to flowers. In this case, the angle of the body indicates the position relative to the sun, and horizontal movements indicate the distance. Telling relatives information, the bee can repeat the dance up to 100 times.

Interesting facts about bees have been sorted out, but what do wasps hide in their lives? After all, these insects are no less intelligent than their striped relatives.

wasp colony

Unlike bees, wasps build their nests and create families alone. So, in the spring, one female builds a nest and lays her eggs there. After about 26 days, the larvae hatch, which at first eat the food brought by the "mother". It is noteworthy that all adults of the same sex are born - females. They have naturally underdeveloped ovaries, so they cannot produce offspring and are only engaged in taking care of the house.

At this time, the "mother" again lays eggs and the colony increases. Males and other fertile females appear only by autumn. Then they fly away in the mating season, the males die after mating, and the females, future mothers, hibernate.

Wasps recognize each other by their faces

As it turns out, there is another unusual fact in the life of wasps - they are able to distinguish between their relatives. However, this ability is available only in social species of wasps, where there is a hierarchy. And those individuals who live alone, do not know how to distinguish between faces.

Pets

Wasps have another feature that is no longer in the world of insects and even many animals - attachment to individual offspring. Japanese scientists from Kyushu University managed to reveal the fact that mother wasps pay much more attention and care to some larvae in the nest than others. As a rule, these larvae are more developed than the others and larger. This is due, to a greater extent, to the instinct to preserve the nest. After all, larger and stronger individuals will be able to better protect and preserve the family.

What do we know about bumblebees?

The bumblebee is an unusual relative of bees. However, for science, it is a kind of mystery and even a paradox. And this is largely due to its aerodynamic abilities. By all the laws of physics, this insect should not have the ability to fly. But it flies and even very successfully. Find out some more interesting things from their lives now.

Shipping Bumblebees

As with bees, most of the family is made up of working individuals, only in bumblebees they are forwarders. They fly to flowers in summer, collect nectar and bring it to the nest. These are also underdeveloped females that have very good eyesight. They distinguish colors, choose the brightest buds and collect nectar on them. Beginners choose different flowers, but already meters of their business prefer only the most fragrant individual types of plants.

hard workers

It is generally accepted that hard workers are bees, but bumblebees are no less diligent. Moreover, they are very useful, as they pollinate those types of flowers that the bees bypass. The fact is that bumblebees have a much larger proboscis and they can get nectar even from especially deep buds. They also fly for bribes in bad weather. When the usually striped workers are sitting in the hive, the bumblebees are working in the fields in the sweat of their brows.

Bumblebees fly for bribes in rain and thunderstorms, and even before dawn and after sunset. And they work 5 times faster than bees.

Loud buzzing

Those who saw the bumblebee were surprised more than once by its loud buzzing. But this is a necessary condition for the collection of nectar. A bumblebee, flying up to a flower, begins to buzz strongly, rattle its wings, thereby shaking out pollen and nectar from the stamens. Then he collects them freely and flies home. In hot weather, some individuals stand near the entrance to the nest and begin to buzz strongly, thus ventilating the house.

Video " Professor Pochemushkin:why do bees need honey?»

Do you want your child to also know a lot about bees and honey in particular? Then this informative cartoon will be useful. Do not deny yourself some interesting information.

Among insects flying in the meadow, there are three genera that a person encounters quite often in his life: bee, wasp and bumblebee. It's hard to confuse them. They vary greatly in color and size. But sometimes it succeeds, if you do not delve into the details of the color of a large insect that has flown into the window. We are accustomed that the bumblebee is the largest of these three species, but the predatory wasp is much larger, and the body length of some bumblebees is less than that of a bee. Therefore, it will be necessary to understand in more detail how the wasp, bee and bumblebee differ from each other, and how they are similar.

similarity

All three groups belong to the Hymenoptera family. Wasps, bees, bumblebees are social insects and build nests. All three have stingers. Families are divided into queens, workers, and male drones. After fertilization of the female, the working individuals expel the parasite males. They defend their nests by attacking with the whole family.

Bees and bumblebees belong to the family of true bees and. Bumblebee honey is superior in quality to bee honey, but it is not stored for a long time. Both genera of these insects are useful plant pollinators.

They have a smooth stinger that they can use repeatedly. Many bumblebees have almost the same body coloration.

This is where the similarity ends. Now about how the wasp, bee, bumblebee differ from each other.

Differences

Signs by which you can determine who flies around, much more. According to them, it is unmistakably possible to recognize the belonging of an insect to a particular family.

In the first place is "furry". In terms of hairiness, the rating of insects looks like this:

1. Bumblebee.
2. Bee.

Large wasps and small bumblebees are easy to confuse even in color. Among these unrelated insects, there are species that are similar in color and markings. But wasps are always "bald".

The bee occupies an intermediate position in terms of the degree of hairiness and often also seems “bald” to an inattentive observer. In fact, she has bristles, but short and sparse.

Coloring

The degree of coloring is quite easy: the first is always dark brown. The stereotype of striped honey harvesters originated from cartoons. You can compare photos of bees and bumblebees. The differences will be immediately noticeable.

Two other insects can have not only striped, but also almost uniform color. For example, glitter wasps are iridescent, and typhia are monochromatic black. But usually people consider only insects with black and yellow stripes on the body to be wasps. This does not prevent members of other families from also biting painfully and sometimes being more dangerous.

body size

Insects can have almost no differences in length, which means that only by indicating the length of the body it is difficult to say who we are talking about. But the overall dimensions give a clear idea of ​​who is who. This is another point that distinguishes a bumblebee from a bee or wasp.

On a note!

With an equal body length, a representative of the genus Bombus is always larger and more massive than graceful bees and wasps.

Diet and provisioning

Here, between these three representatives of the Hymenoptera order, the greatest differences are observed. The family of true bees are vegetarians and feed on nectar and pollen from flowers. Wasps - with a bias in the sphere of predators and scavengers.

The difference between a bee and a bumblebee in this area is that the first ones make stocks for the winter and leave for the winter with the whole family. The second honey is needed only for feeding the larvae. Of the entire bumblebee family, only the queen remains to winter. Therefore, being able to make honey, bumblebees do not harvest it and use it only for feeding larvae.

Wasps can eat:

• ripe fruits;
• jam;
• insects;
• carrion.

They feed the larvae with protein food. To do this, in nature, workers catch insects, including green corpse flies. In urban areas, they bite off small pieces of meat in the market or find the corpse of a dead animal.

Stocks for the winter are not made, since the entire wasp family dies out in the fall, and only the queen “leaves” for the winter.

nests

The family of real bees, in the absence of ready-made artificial hives and bumblebees, finds a suitable cavity and begins to build honeycombs there. Their nests do not have a specific shape, as they depend on the cavity in which the queen has settled.

The most common and familiar to us real wasps, at the sight of which people are not mistaken in belonging to an insect, build nests on their own. In Russia, two types can be found: a top elongated vertically (such is drawn in cartoons) and a curved "plate" of irregular shape. "Plate" resembles the core of a sunflower, from which the seeds were taken out.

The “elongated top” may turn out to be a nest of hornets.

Wasps build their nests from chewed pulp glued together with saliva. The structure of the nest material strongly resembles thick paper.

sting

The bee has notches and a "lock" on the tip. This prevents the stinger from being removed from the victim's body. Therefore, the worker defending the nest dies after the attack. For this reason, the bees attack themselves only if you climb into their hive.

Insects can easily extract bumblebee and wasp stings from the victim and use them again. Pain from a bite directly depends on their size. Moreover, the wasp often bites "just like that." With a bumblebee, you have to try very hard to make him sting.

Behavior

Bumblebee is a loner. If disturbed, he will fly away. Representatives of the genus Bombus attack only in case of danger to the nest.

A single worker bee can sometimes curl around an object, figuring out the degree of its danger to itself. But it will not sting if you do not wave your arms and do not make sudden movements. Amicably attack only when attacking the hive.

The wasp is the most absurd and annoying creature of all three. May curl around an object for a long time. And it often stings for the reason "I want it that way."

If they suddenly disappear

Ecologists of the world are sounding the alarm, pointing to a decrease in the number of bee and bumblebee families. If you imagine that wasps, bumblebees, bees suddenly disappeared, then hardly anyone will notice the absence of the former. Other lovers of insects and carrion will take their place. There is not much difference who will destroy the pests. However, one should not forget that in addition to harm, as well as their relatives.

But the disappearance of pollinators humanity will feel instantly. Without bees - pollinators of a significant part of fruit trees and shrubs and bumblebees working on clover and in greenhouses, humanity will suffer hunger. But what to do with the decline in the number of pollinators, scientists do not yet know.

Finally, some interesting facts about bees, wasps and bumblebees:

• After the queen is fertilized, the bees pounce on the drones and drive them out of the hive forever. “On the loose” drones quickly die, as they cannot get their own food on their own.
• Wasps, but few people saw him. This almost microscopic droplet at the bottom of a new cell is needed by the larva only for the first time, until it becomes able to consume protein food.
• Bumblebees wake up before everyone else and are the first to collect nectar.
• The hornet is a predator that prefers live prey.
• A worker bee can tell family members the way to a food source.

All these insects are very interesting, if you do not treat them as annoying and unnecessary creatures. They do more good than harm and should not be destroyed unless absolutely necessary.

Bees, wasps, bumblebees, hornets. Having mastered ants, caterpillars, butterflies and beetles, we boldly move on to bees, wasps, bumblebees and hornets. They live next to the physalis in petunias, in the attic of the barn and in jars of jam. In these places, we will eventually acquire resistance to a dose of 0.6 to 0.9 SD. Bees are the closest relatives of ants. If you carefully examine the ant and the bee stinging you, you cannot help but notice how similar they are at this moment. Both at this point have antennae, waist and abdomen. For this reason, ants and bees are united in one order - Hymenoptera, and because of being on you, in the suborder of stinging Hymenoptera. They have a huge number of families and subfamilies. Although according to the latest data, they are the same animals at different stages of development. Bees, wasps, bumblebees and hornets are warm-blooded animals, their body temperature often exceeds the air temperature by 30 degrees Celsius. In the dwellings where they live, it is always warm, cheerful and cozy. The source of thermal energy and low buzz is the mechanical vibration of the chest and abdomen - the result of the rapid contraction of the animal's muscles. The animal does not need to fly somewhere. The animal is capable of buzzing and heating up with fixed wings. Pick up the domestic honey bee Apis mellifera. Overcoming pain and fainting, warm yourself with its warmth and consider the sacrament of stinging. Nothing beats this beauty. The sting is carried out with a sting, which is a double-edged dagger made of damask steel with grooves for blood flow, at the same time - a thin surgical instrument, as well as an unsurpassed carving ax. The hornet's sting goes through iron like a knife through butter. The rider's sting from one run from five meters hits one single desired cell of the victim, regardless of its size. The accuracy is amazing. The sting of a German bee is capable of butchering an animal carcass, like a real butcher. Just make it. In the filiform gland of the stinging apparatus - the sting, which works part-time as an ovipositor, contains a secret - the source of bee venom, one of the best allergists in the world. The gland is essentially sexual. The adnexal glands of the ovipositor turn into poisonous acid and alkali glands when they meet you. Often the sting of a bee or hornet can become an independent animal. So, the sting of a working honey bee, the very one that you picked up, has notches in order to remain in your hands forever. The sting left by the bee for independent life is equipped with muscles, which, contracting already without any bee, inject poison into you for as long as you live. The muscles around the membranous venom gland are incredibly strong. They have such power that sometimes they do not need a cutting tool. Ants familiar to us do without a sting. Their muscles around the acidic poisonous gland occupy almost the entire abdomen and, when contracted, cause a stream of formic acid of such force that it can pierce through and dissolve all living things within a radius of many tens of meters. Another characteristic feature of stinging hymenoptera in collectivism. Their instincts are subordinated to a common cause - to "pick" you in full, which led, in the end, to the creation of one of the most amazing natural phenomena - the "society" of insects. Animals leading a social lifestyle, for example, other people, have always been considered the most dangerous for humans. Bees and ants are just such social animals. In order to terrify all living things, they form communities or families. Therefore, be prepared that they will kill you together, in a large, well-organized crowd. Let's start with one. A single individual will delight you with a thick, colorless liquid with a characteristic odor and bitter taste. The poison is heat resistant. Freezing the poison injected into you to deep low temperatures and heating it to 115 ° C will not lead to anything good, it will not improve your condition, but will only enhance the already unforgettable sensations. But the poison is easily dissolved in water. Later we will tell you how to use it. Bee venom has an advantage over other previously mastered poisons, as it remains active in the solid state for up to 40 years. It is the best suited for harvesting for future use. The chemical composition of the poison has not been precisely established. Now we will list only the most popular components known today under the general name apitoxin (from Latin apis - bee and Greek toxikun - poison). So, bee venom contains: biologically active protein melittin, enzymes: hyaluronidase, lecithinase A, phospholipase A and B, acid phosphatase, proteases, DNases, free amino acids, biogenic amines, histamine, histamine glycoside, dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin, acetylcholine , polypeptides, apamin, MSD-peptide, tertiapine, secapin, histamine soder, tetra- and pentapeptides, kinin, lipids and substances similar to animal saponins, formic and other acids, fats, steroid-like substances, volatile oils, water, vitamins, microelements . The number of names alone can make you feel cold. And that's all for us. Poisons are highly toxic, having both local and general toxic effects. The picture of the lesion depends on the type of insect, the number of stings, the size of the family, our experience and other factors. Poisonous insects of this class are very diverse. From the smallest, like the Ammophilus wasp, with paralysis-causing venom, to the largest, like the enlarged copy of the common bee we hold in our hands, Apis mellifera scutellata, with inevitable severe, incurable hemolysis, irreversible damage to red blood cells. The weakest, the bumblebee Bombus impatiens, circling over the crocuses in the corner of the garden, has a lethal dose of only 7.2 mg per kg of your still alive weight. We bring math to the rescue. It turns out 432 mg per individual of the human species. This is three and a half times weaker than potassium cyanide. But already two and a half times better than the Colorado potato beetle. Throw beetles, run to him. A common bee frolicking nearby in Grandma's clover Apis mellifera will give us 3.5 mg/kg or half a tablet of potassium cyanide. With a certain desire, 0.5 lethal doses are guaranteed. After the bumblebee, just a gift. Although the amount of poison released during stinging is small, on average 0.2 - 0.4 mg, even single bites can lead to a painful death. Symptoms of poisoning among crocuses and petunias require a separate description. It can be pain, swelling, hyperemia, in the case of hornets, necrotic processes, allergic reactions, urticaria, swelling of the larynx are possible. The favorite target of the poisons of social bees and os is the autonomic and central nervous systems, the defeat of which immediately causes tachycardia, convulsions and paralysis, pain in the heart, general weakness, prolonged fainting. Possible death from respiratory paralysis. Treatment is symptomatic, that is, depending on the symptoms, which change every minute. Therefore, take your time, dispersing the doctors, wait for everyone, take a closer look. First comes the so-called anaphylactic reaction. Characterized by a monstrous flow rate. In fact, it is a real miracle. For another minute, the person was normal, talking to flowers, and suddenly, in an instant, the person no longer talks to anyone, and practically does not think about anything. An allergic reaction to histamine does not give time to realize what it was. An anaphylactic (allergic) reaction is a separate, exciting, short story that makes you forget everything in the world. The reaction occurs in people before they are able to determine their sensitivity to certain substances of animate and inanimate nature - antigens, primarily histamine. After such allergens enter the human body, an uncontrolled reaction immediately occurs with the formation of large amounts of biologically active substances - mediators. In terms of speed, the process can be compared with an uncontrolled nuclear reaction. An anaphylactic reaction is like an explosion. Released mediators instantly lead to a change in vascular tone, tissue edema and other pathological changes. Urticaria, skin rashes of various shapes, sizes and shades, Quincke's edema, angioedema, blisters similar in number, size, speed of swelling and bursting with soap bubbles are formed on the skin in real time. It is better not to look at the mucous membranes at this moment, local anaphylaxis occurs there - allergic croup. A fatal attack of the common cold and bronchial asthma, fainting, shock are examples of the painstaking, accurate and at the same time fast work of histamine. A reaction is always followed by a shock. Anaphylactic shock is the culmination of an anaphylactic reaction, the general, last, severe reaction of the body before it leaves, characteristic of all sensitive people. It is associated with taking medications, with injections of drugs or vaccines used against bee and bumblebee stings. Shock is characterized by the appearance of difficulty breathing, chills, fever, shortness of breath, dizziness, tachycardia, nausea, drop in blood pressure, convulsions, respiratory arrest, lack of blood pressure, development of fainting, loss of consciousness and failure to return consciousness. It would seem that everything is over, but no, hemolysis sets in. Hemolysis is a condition that requires maximum concentration. Already almost on a lifeless body, a burning pain occurs at the site of the bite, a pale papule spreads from it with a ring of hyperemia and swelling of the surrounding tissues of various lengths. Before us are vivid symptoms of the onset of hemolysis or hemoglobinuria, the results of the action of the protein. The damage to erythrocytes is especially pronounced with bites to the face, neck, ear and back of the head, in this case the edema is most pronounced in the increased size of the head, and is often accompanied by lymphadenitis. With a bite in the eye, hemolysis is accompanied by lacrimation, conjunctivitis, blepharitis. It is better not to think about a bite in the eye. The strange behavior of the body can also be attributed to deadly symptoms. Trophic ulcers and thrombophlebitis, which have been disturbing for a long time, suddenly disappear. The poison has an anti-inflammatory effect. Against the background of fatal poisoning, a person temporarily undergoes joint diseases, myositis, sciatica, neuralgia, urticaria, migraine, suicidal syndrome, etc. Do not flatter yourself, these are the same sure signs of fatal poisoning as suffocation or convulsions, perhaps even more terrible than respiratory arrest - a sign of an anaphylactic reaction and its logical outcome - the shock of the same name. You can increase the effectiveness of the poison if you approach it with an infectious disease. Before biting, it is advisable to make sure that there are diseases of the liver, kidneys, blood, diabetes, cardiovascular, mental diseases, individual hypersensitivity to bee venom and physical labor. All of the above contributes to the most complete satisfaction from the action of the poison. Poison also works well on knowledge workers. Like any allergen, histamine primarily affects people associated with any kind of labor. On people who are motionless, not thinking about anything, histamine miraculously does not work. This, incidentally, applies to many other animals and not only animal toxins. We come to a paradoxical, but very important, scientifically substantiated conclusion that is fair for the entire theory of life safety: immobility is the basis of life. If you feel unwell, first of all, do not move. People say: "do not fuss", which is essentially true. And the expression: "Well, did you jump?" should be taken literally. What else can save? Little. Now that we've waited for hemolysis and shock, all of their symptoms, we need to find the stinger. There may be several of them, in different parts of the body, in the epicenters of the distribution of the sensations described above. Before removing the sting, make sure that the poison is over, the vial filled with poison is empty. It is useful to wash the wound with alcohol, so as not to disturb the purity of the experiment, not to bring an unplanned infection. After that, it is necessary to apply inside organic solvents, salts of heavy metals, concentrated alkalis and acids, oxidizing agents. Anything that successfully inactivates apitoxin. Does not withstand bee venom and direct sunlight. Don't refuse. It's too late to give up in your position. After clarifying the diagnosis for additional symptoms resulting from the use of concentrated alkalis and acids, you can try the cold at the sting site. With multiple bites, circular infiltration novocaine blockade of bite sites sometimes helps. In severe cases, adrenaline, corticosteroids and antihistamines, vitamin preparations can help a little. In total, it is necessary to consume a total of 400 ml of drugs: diphenhydramine, pipolfen, glucocorticoid, calcium chloride, calcium gluconate, sodium bicarbonate, hydrocortisone, prednisolone, rutin, nicotinic acid. After that, you need to take a break, smoke. We promised to talk about the beneficial effects of Nicotine nicotine. Thanks to the alkaloid nicotine or pyridine methyl pyrrolidine contained in tobacco, we owe the best analeptic in the world. Analeptics (from the Greek. analeptikos - restorative, strengthening) stimulate or restore the functions of the respiratory and vasomotor centers of the medulla oblongata, as well as the heart. Stimulation of the respiratory center occurs due to the direct effect of the drug on the respiratory center of direct and reverse action. Analeptics increase peripheral vascular resistance and increase systemic arterial pressure. Analeptics also weaken various forms of central inhibition. In the brain, under their influence, oxygen consumption increases and the content of noradrenaline, the second after adrenaline, but no less important for the body, brain hormone rises. Its action has a significant stimulating effect on the heart. Outwardly, this is manifested in an excellent reaction and mobilization of all the forces of the body. For this reason, the benefits of smoking in stressful situations cannot be overestimated. In every way, nicotine is life. After a smoke break, with the development of seizures, you can add seduxen and diazepam. At the end of convulsions - rheopolyglucin, polyglucin. After a natural deterioration from so many drugs taken, add prednisolone and mezaton. After that, you will be able to tell the relatives of the deceased that you did your best. In fact, this whole set of dubious preparations and painful procedures is replaced by three liters of relatively pure, in fact, any water. Drinking plenty of fluids is one of the most effective means of combating toxins, including those that cause colds. In this sense, the people are mistaken, it is never too late to drink Borjomi. Drinking must be alternated with abundant excretion of the drunk in any way accessible to a person. We will not list these methods. They are well known to everyone. We emphasize only that all. Everyone without exception. Yes, yes, and these too. No need to be embarrassed. We will be embarrassed later, when we get out. Water is suitable for all poisons, with the exception of a group of toxins that destroy the structure of intestinal cells, such as the cholera toxin. In this case, the intestine ceases to fulfill its function of supplying the body with anything, primarily water. Everything goes right through. In this case, those who have not read this chapter cannot do without a dropper. For those who read, the irreversible functional impairment caused by the deadly poison of cholera may seem like mild indigestion. Now, knowing about the possible consequences, let's turn to practical recommendations, the technique of choosing an animal and obtaining a precious sting. Much depends on the nature of the animal. Poisonous, as elsewhere, only females. The poison of an individual, as was said, is small, but no one knows how many females in the family and how many times each individual will sting. Sometimes it is difficult to guess the size of the community and its character. For this, irritation should be caused in an individual animal. Which is not difficult at all. There are few living beings that we do not annoy, especially in childhood. By irritating one animal, we very quickly learn how many animals are in the family and how they are set up. Your obedient servant in childhood, being an inquisitive boy, poured an eight-hundred-gram jar of water into a nest of earthen wasps, was attacked, received six bites in the head, and would have died immediately if he knew how dangerous it was. We now know that the impact of insect venom depends largely on the site of the bite, the number of bites and individual tolerance. The author of these lines did not know anything about this in childhood. He rightly believed that all places are the same. This saved him. Traditionally, bites to the head and other places close to the brain are considered dangerous. Since the location of the brain in a person is very individual, the bites of earthen wasps in the head turned out to be not so close to the brain of our hero. Another control bite took place in another place, much lower than the head, but it also turned out to be not so close to the hero's brain. So the author added resistance to 0.7 lethal dose to the already existing 0.5 from outdoor games with beetles and caterpillars, many days of incubation on an anthill, eating many tons of nettles and needles. Your obedient servant did not stop there. After a useful episode with earthen wasps, the author in childhood, and the author’s childhood was not only difficult, but also long, read Khalifman’s picturesque descriptions of unbearable pains from the bite of the Vespa orientalis hornet. So colorful that the author wanted to be bitten immediately. He did not hesitate to take advantage of this desire. The case was not long in coming. Well, what can I say? So-so. The author of these lines in childhood expected more, although it might not have been a hornet. When poisoned by hornets, hemorrhage and hemolysis are characteristic, which are associated with certain experiences. Instead of the expected swelling, blisters and papules, the author experienced convulsions and fainting, not much different from the daily cramps and fainting associated with the need to do homework. There was a preliminary preparation. The lethal dose of hornet venom is 2.5 mg per kg of bitten weight or a little more than a tablet of diphenhydramine per person. The strength of the poison is only one and two tenths of the strength of potassium cyanide. The poison of H. Joglandis has the same strength. He is stronger than the poisons of bumblebees and bees, but not as much as it might seem from the chilling stories of Khalifman. Another danger that can unexpectedly lie in wait is multiple bites of the same individual. This happens infrequently, usually the animal stings no more than ten times, but it still happens. Then the number of bees, wasps, bumblebees and hornets in the family must be multiplied by an arbitrary number of stings of each member. Pretty hard math problem. Not the most dangerous African subspecies of the Apis mellifera honey bee, the Apis mellifera scutellata bee stings as many times as it sees you. Her eyesight is relatively good, your appearance is bright, memorable, the speed of her flight significantly exceeds the speed of your run. It may well turn out that the total amount of poison injected by the end of the marathon will exceed three or more lethal doses. There has been a lot of talk lately about so-called mutant insects. We see this as a serious threat. No one knows in advance what strength of histamine the bee will come up with and to which family it currently belongs. For example, a paper wasp living in the attic, at the sight of you, will not find it difficult to attribute itself to the wasp genus P. badius or the very similar P. rugosus with a lethal dose of poison of 0.45 mg / kg. This poison is already four and a half times stronger than potassium cyanide. One bite is equal to a teaspoon of this powder. It is even easier with a honey bee that imagines itself to be a bee from the genus Pogonomyrmex comanche, then its poison kills in the amount of 0.25 mg / kg - with one sting it will bestow almost two teaspoons of potassium cyanide. The number of bites should be recorded. The recommended frequency is 300-500 bites annually. Having fulfilled the specified standard, our body will gain resistance to 0.9 lethal doses. We will approach the critical point - resistance to one lethal dose. Once we overcome it, it becomes much easier to move on. After reading the three sections of this chapter, we have become immune to histamine - the poison of winged predators. Increased resistance to most polypeptides, as well as one of the most terrible poisons, ladybug batrachotoxin. Needless to say, the person at this stage stops getting the flu. He becomes immune to the toxins of the animals that excite him. The flu is also an animal, only small. This section is dominated by the bee Pogonomyrmex comanche. According to the results of three sections, the nanisani beetle is still in the lead, its poison is 120 times stronger than the poison of the most dangerous hymenoptera, but we can assure you that the superiority of its squad will not last long - some two more sections. Everything that we have described refers only to the preparatory stage in the development of animal toxins. Serious trials lie ahead, which we have finally achieved. See the chapter "To True Friends". With gratitude to the Internet for providing information about the subject of the conversation, special thanks to the sites that responded to requests: "dangerous animals", "deadly animals", "most deadly animals". Special thanks to the electronic versions of dictionaries, encyclopedias, pages.

It is difficult to imagine nature without insects that crawl, fly, buzz. They are attracted by the aroma of flowers, the sweet smell of fruits and berries. Many people have experienced the pain of being bitten by a buzzing insect. How dangerous are they for people and how can they be distinguished by their appearance, what could be the consequences of the poison entering the victim's body?

Wasp, bee, bumblebee, hornet - differences

Representatives of the insect family have both similarities and significant differences. All of them fly, buzz and pose a threat in the form of a bite with the release of a toxic substance. You need to understand that insects attack in case of a threat to life and in other cases are not dangerous.

The bees are quite calm, hardworking, busy all day collecting nectar and pollen. The hive is working around the clock to build combs, feed the young generation, ventilate, process and store the collected product. The life expectancy of a worker bee is short, about a month, but with the rapid development of the young generation, it is invisible to others.

What is the difference between a bumblebee and a bee

Regardless of the similarities between bees and bumblebees in terms of wing structure, there are many factors that make them different. The bumblebee and the bee are close relatives. Their habitat is very extensive. There are about 300 species of bumblebees living throughout the continents. A distinctive feature of this species is the shiny coating of the female's hind legs from fold to edge, covered with long hairs, which are a pollen basket. The abdomen is round, not bent, the segments are rigid, the organs of the reproductive system are dark in color. The internal structure of the sting is tubular. Poison passes through this channel after penetration under the skin of the sting, the upper structure of which is without notches, due to which injections are made repeatedly, without harm to the insect itself.

About 300 species of bumblebees from about 50 subgenera are known in the world.

The bee family has more than 20 thousand species, many of which have not been studied. They are the main pollinators and collectors of pollen, producers of honey. There are three pairs of legs on the abdomen, with villi on the inside. Baskets for collecting pollen are formed on the hind legs from the villi. The abdomen consists of dense segments, bent to the bottom. The sting inside is empty; After tearing off the sting with a piece of the abdomen, the insect soon dies.

There are about 21 thousand species and 520 genera of bees

The difference between a bee and a bumblebee can be determined visually:

• A bumblebee is twice as large as a bee, its body is rounded.
• By coloring, the bumblebee is brighter than the bee.
• Bees are used on farms to collect pollen and pollinate plants in gardens and fields in open areas, bumblebees - to pollinate plants in greenhouses.
• Sting Application - A bumblebee uses its sting many times. The bee only dies once.

Hornet and wasp - differences

How is a hornet different from a wasp? The hornet is the largest member of the wasp family. The length of his body is more than five centimeters. The difference between a hornet and a wasp includes not only size, but also the structure of the body. The head is large, wide in the back of the eyes, the chest area is large, wide, dark in color. The belly has the same structure as that of a wasp, but is much larger.

The largest representatives of the hornet genus (Vespa mandarinia) are up to 55 mm in length.

The difference between a hornet and a wasp lies in the use of material for building a nest:

• The wasp uses thin fibers of trees for building, moistens with secretions that are part of saliva, chewing them to the desired state with saliva, and uses them to build combs. In appearance, the nest resembles a round roll of paper with numerous parallel layers, the honeycombs of which are located on the underside of the layer.
• The hornet uses the same construction method, but uses the material for use from rotted fibers of trees and stumps. Such material, when used, gives the nest a dark, brown tone.

The hornet settles throughout the countries, except for the far north, in many areas it is considered an endangered species. The wasp also lives throughout the territory, except for the northern regions, but is considered a useless, stinging insect.

Important! The bite of a hornet is very painful, with the release of paralytic poison of strong concentration. In people with allergic diseases, the poison causes anaphylactic shock, without emergency assistance a person may die.

Wasps are distant relatives of bees and ants. They do not take care of the offspring, once laying an egg in a cell, seal it and throw it away.

Wasp with prey

Nests are built in any suitable places for this:

• between branches;
• in holes underground;
• in buildings, in the form of a round roll of paper.

The hornet's sting reaches up to 5 mm in length. It attacks a person only in case of danger to his life, applying a bite with his jaws, after which he can sting.

Important! The wasp, by the nature of its aggressiveness, bites and stings at the same time several times in a row.

The diet of both wasps and hornets includes:

• nectar;
• fruit juice, pollen;
• tree sap;
• insects - caterpillars and spiders.

How are bees different from wasps and bumblebees

The bumblebee and the wasp have a significant difference in color, in the wasp it is defiant, bright yellow. The bumblebee is large, the body is round, fluffy, darker than the wasp in color. Bees and bumblebees feed on pollen and nectar, sucking it up with their proboscis. Wasps are omnivorous insects - they consume pollen, nectar, fruit juice, tree sap, small insects, attack bee hives using sharp jaws, which are used when biting.

How to distinguish a hornet from a uterus of a wasp

The main visual difference is in size.

For comparison: 3 cm - uterus, 2 cm - normal

Insects of the wasp family have a thin waist, and a long abdomen. The hornet has a waist that is not as thin as a wasp, the size of the head and thoracic region and abdomen is much larger than that of a wasp and even a wasp uterus, which is the largest in a wasp swarm. The wasp's colored stripes are bright yellow, alternate, with clearly defined edges along the connection line.

Important! The hornet has an orange tone in the alternation at the beginning of the abdomen and the color transition along the lines is not so clear.

Who is stronger: a wasp or a bumblebee

Insects differ in their behavior - a bumblebee is a calm insect and uses its weapons in extreme cases, a wasp is very aggressive and attacks an enemy that is larger than it. Wasps often plunder nests of bumblebees, eating their stocks, when attacking using a sting and bites with their jaws. A healthy family of bumblebees can easily cope with robbers, but if the family is weak, then the wasp swarm wins, which can kill not only working bumblebees, but also the entire young generation of the bumblebee family.

Where wasps and hornets winter

During the summer, wasps accumulate a large amount of nutrients and hibernate in winter, using their body's reserves. Single individuals can hibernate under the bark of a tree, in tree hollows, in old destroyed stumps, in the crevices of outbuildings. Over the summer, a swarm can build a huge "paper" nest, but with the onset of autumn, the younger generation must seek shelter for the winter and not return to the old nest.

During warm days, hornets build a nest, raise young replenishment and accumulate nutrients for wintering. In early autumn, young females fly out of the nest to look for a partner. After fertilization, they settle into slots for wintering. With the onset of cold weather, worker hornets close the exits from the nest and can feed on stocks and eggs that are laid throughout the season.

Hornet dwellings are structures made of paper, which they make from young tree bark.

In severe frosts, the working hornets die, only the queen remains in the nest, which in the spring will lay new eggs and create a new swarm. Wintering is a hibernation sleep until early spring. With the first positive indications of heat, the female wakes up and looks for a place to build a nest where she will lay her eggs and hatch a new colony of hornets. Insects are considered an endangered species and are listed in the Red Book.

What stings a wasp, a bee and a hornet

The wasp is a very aggressive insect; when attacked, the sting and jaws are used. Only females have a sting, it is a modified ovipositor, and everyone has biting jaws. She bites more often, but she can use her sting up to five times in a row. The number of injections and poison depends on the age of the insect, the older - the stronger.

The bee is not so aggressive by nature and attacks only in case of a threat to its life. She pierces the victim's skin with a modified ovipositor. The sting, having notches, catches on the puncture and breaks off along with a piece of the bee's belly. After that, the bee dies.

The hornet is as aggressive as a wasp and can attack a person who has disturbed its habitat. The hornet both bites and stings. The sting is sharp and strong, it can sting several times. Hornet venom is considered less toxic than bee venom. Based on the size of the insect and the amount of poison that enters the body of the victim through the sting, it poses a danger to human life.

Important! If the human body is weakened or prone to allergies, without assistance, anaphylactic shock and a tragic outcome can occur.

By knowing the difference between stinging insects, you can avoid the risks of encountering them. These insects not only sting, but also bring great benefits, having learned about which, it is worth treating them kindly.

The main advantage of a bee is its usefulness in the economy. These are the main producers of honey, wax, propolis, perga, pollinators of flowering plants. Wasps and bumblebees also benefit: bumblebees are used to pollinate greenhouse plants, wasps destroy many aphids and caterpillars during the season. Useless and hornet's nest. Pressed into a jar and filled with alcohol for 10 days, the nest of wasps is used as a rub for the treatment of inflammatory processes in the joints, for colds, and the dry, frayed nest is used for sprinkling ulcers, burns, for rinsing with periodontal disease, in the form of powder from sweating feet.

Wasps, bumblebees and bees belong to the same order of Hymenoptera insects. Despite many similarities, there are some significant differences.

If bumblebees and bees are represented by only a few species, then wasps have dozens of species, ranging from collective individuals to loners with completely different habits. Sometimes there are more differences in varieties of one species than a wasp differs from a bee and a bumblebee.

Outwardly, bees are easily distinguished from wasps and bumblebees if the insect does not stay in motion. However, while in flight, it is rather problematic to distinguish between a specific species. Also, in addition to external features, insect bites also differ.
About bees there are reports of 15 thousand years ago. In the 17th century, scientists paid special attention to the communication of bees in a team. Thus, it was proved that insects transmit information using the language of dance: circular movements, the nature of the flight, etc.

Due to their diversity, arthropods are an excellent example of collective and individual effective survival.

Differences in the physical structure of arthropods

A significant difference is tracked between the signs of the external structure.

Scientists divide the body of an arthropod representative into the following parts:

• head;
• abdomen;
• chest part;
• chitinous cover of an insect.

In the case of the head shape, the bee is strikingly triangular in appearance, containing the center of nerve connections. A line is noticeable along the central part, on both sides of which compound eyes of a black insect are planted.

The complex design of the eye is a special example of a successful engineering solution. The organ consists of many plates (with the shape of a honeycomb), a round tube with the property of light transmission goes to the center of the head.

Wasps have 2 pairs of webbed wings. Depending on the species, the insect can reach from 1.5 cm to 10 cm. in length. On the lower facial part of the head are two jointed antennae that can move autonomously. Such an organ allows the insect to determine the level of carbon dioxide and humidity, which is extremely useful in a dark hive.

Wasps got three pairs of legs, which in turn consist of 9 segments.

Table: What is the difference between a wasp and a bee and a bumblebee, a brief comparison.

Important! The weight of the uterus of arthropods differs significantly from other representatives of the hive.

At first glance, you can see a more oblong and elongated version of the body. There is a term "wasp waist" which is expressed by an extremely small girth.

The whole body has a bright color, in some species there are small areas with hairs. The wasp's jaws are much larger than those of bees. The coloring is very bright and well visible.

Bees have more pronounced paws. The coloration is more blurred, shaded. The connection between the abdomen and breast is not so sharp. The chest area has a copious amount of hairs. The back of the bee has a gray-black color.

As for the bumblebee, the individual is extremely large in comparison with relatives. He has a similar color, but a denser cover of hairs. The bumblebee is much fluffier and wider than bees. The paws of the species are also much wider. Yellow, reddish and red stripes may appear on the body. Some varieties may be completely black in color.

How to distinguish insects in flight? When flying, the wasp makes jerky movements at intervals, freezing in place. Characterized by high speed and sharpness. In some cases, individuals are large in size, which makes them clumsy.

The bee moves more smoothly with more rounded flight paths. It is impossible to call her a loafer in view of her special status as a honey producer. This worker is the only supplier of honey to our tables.

The bumblebee is a real heavyweight, as a result of which it flies the distance slowly and heavily.

In addition, the difference between bees and wasps and bumblebees is expressed in nutrition.

For example:

• the bumblebee forages alone, and fly out in search of nectar before other membranous;
• honey insects fly around the territory in small groups;
• wasps can search for food in a flock.

The bumblebee feeds on vegetarian food mainly on nectar, but some arthropods are omnivores, and are also quite aggressive in capturing food.

As mentioned earlier, wasps are the most irritable. Most often it is wasps that bite. Due to the large jaws, an individual can bite a person. Wasps don't die after being bitten, so they sting more. The venom of the sting causes unpleasant itching and pain, the intensity of which depends on the size of the insect. If you did not find a sting inside the wound after a bite, you can say that it was not a bee.

Important! The reason for an insect bite can be even an unpleasant smell or a careless movement.

The bee takes care of its weapon and does not use it in vain, as this cripple their insides, and they die after a while. The sting of the bees has notches and gets stuck in the victim. During a bite, the bees send a signal to other individuals, and they begin to help bite in a group. Bumblebees are most often alone and manage on their own.

Bee venom from wasp venom appears in medicine. Bee toxins are used in medicine for apitoxin therapy (treatment with bee venom). However, one should have the professional guidance of doctors.

Attention! The bumblebee stings much stronger than other insects, but weaker than the hornet.

The difference between bumblebees in a calm character and most often representatives of the species do not show aggression and is the opposite of smaller arthropods. Their sting is smooth. Therefore, it does not remain in the body of the victim.