What Are You Dealing With?

Not everything that stings is a bee, and not every bee situation calls for the same response. This section helps you identify what you are looking at, understand the risk level, and know what to do next.

Bees

Honeybee

Fuzzy, amber-brown, wax comb inside walls or trees

Africanized Bee

Looks identical to honeybee. Behavior is the tell.

Bumblebee

Large, round, very fuzzy : yellow and black

Carpenter Bee

Large, shiny smooth black abdomen, drills wood

Wasps and Hornets

Paper Wasp

Slender, long dangling legs, small open nest under eaves

Yellowjacket

Bright yellow-black, smooth body, often nests in ground

Bald-Faced Hornet

Black with white face markings, large grey paper globe nest

European Hornet

Very large, brown with yellow, active at night

Native Bees

Mason Bee

Tiny metallic blue-black, mud-sealed holes in wood or stems

Sweat Bee

Tiny metallic green, attracted to skin

Mud Dauber

Very slender thread-waist, mud tubes on walls

Ground Bee

Small fuzzy bee nesting in bare soil, spring only