Staci SilerJourneyman Class

2017

Honey Bees: melittin and phospholipase A(2)

Wasps and hornets: kinins and phospholipase A(1)B

Bumble Bees:bombolitins and phospholipase A(2)

Excessive envenomation by honey bees can result in cardiac arrest (Ld50 is 8 stings per pound of body weight) whereas 50 or more stings

by hornets and wasps may cause serious kidney failure. That said, with the differing chemical components of each, it is possible to be

highly allergic to one insect’s sting but not react to others. It all depends upon which component of the venom you are allergic to.

Solitary

Social

Eusocial

Ground

Exposed/Visible nests

Cavity

• Many types – Common ones in our area: black and yellow, organ pipe, and blue mud daubers

• Overwinter as ‘immatures’ in the nest and emerge in spring to mate and build colonies.

• Black and yellow as well as organ pipe mud daubers will not reuse old tubes.

• Blue mud daubers do not build tubes - they take over old nests of black and yellow mud daubers w/primary prey being black widow spiders.

• Mate in fall and new female queens hibernate over winter

• May grow to have up to 20-30 adults and over 200 cells for larvae

• Cells are constructed of pre-digested wood pulp with no ‘shell’

• New queens will not re-inhabit their old nest the next year

• Will sting if necessary but not highly defensive

• Usually ground-dwelling but can inhabit cavities

• Cause most problems for honey bees due to mis-identification.

• Very defensive and may have multiple entrances

• Mated queen hibernates over winter and founds new colony in spring

• Cold usually kills old colony

• The Red Velvet Ant is actually a female wasp. The male is winged, the female is wingless

• Adult female red velvet ants consume nectar

• Females force their way into the homes of ground-dwelling bees and other stinging insects then tear open a hole in the cocoons of developing pupae and lay their eggs.

• Sometimes they will stay within the colony they have invaded for several day

• They have very thick skins, hard to pierce• They get their name from the painful

intensity of their sting and will sting even if carefully picked up.

• Highly defensive and can have 200 –400 + adults in the colony

• Females mate in the fall and hibernate, starting a new colony in the spring

• Gray paper’ shell covering comb with entrance on the bottom

• Usually visible but can inhabit a cavity

• Paper nests formed in hollowed out trees, attics, etc

• Can grow to hold 400-500 + adults• Young adults mature, mate, queens

overwinter and start new colony in spring

• Attracted to light – can fly at night

• Solitary but aggregate in ‘leks’.• Fairly large insect• Males will ‘guard’ the nesting site and mate

when possible• Females paralyze cicadas and carry back to

burrow, lay eggs on them, then seal.• Overwinters in a cocoon, pupates in spring,

then emerges and mates right before the cicadas

• Builds ‘galleries’• In fall, young adults – male and

female - mature, feed on nectar, then go back to the tunnel, hibernate over winter, then emerge and mate in spring

• They will enlarge the area every year

• Take over mouse and bird nests• Queens emerge and mate in the fall,

hibernate overwinter as adults, then build a new nest the next spring.

The branched hairs of a bee, called ‘plumose’ hairs, collect pollen. The region where they carry the pollen

can change.

• Male cells are closest to entrance of tube, female eggs are laid nearer to the back

• Leaf-cutter bees mate once they have emerged from cell but can ‘hibernate’ in the larval state during winter

• You can have two generations in a season• Typically, circular ‘chew’ holes on leaves but

will use any material if leaves are unavailable

• Prefer pre-existing cavities• Overwinter as adults• Mate in spring• Can be used for pollination• Must have access to mud• Can encourage in your area

using reeds or straws

• Different subspecies are active at different times but most are only active for a month or two

• Solitary but will aggregate• Moist soil may deter

Dr. Kerr attempted to increase the honey production in South America.

Brought Afrcian bees over in 1956 but they died. In 1957, tried again. They survived but were accidentally

released.

Genetics, life cycle, etc., make the genes hard to dilute

Crossed the border into Texas in 1990 then went west.

Defensive, NOT aggressive.

(Thoughts are that heavy rainfall & cold climates will keep Africanized bees in the southern states, as they don’t store

much food)

Appearance: What is the difference?

Behavior: Defensiveness high

Swarming excessively

Nesting locations in open, ground, small spaces, heavy smells

Mating later in the afternoon/evening

Keep them on individual stands

Keep a smoker at the ready

Keep smells and disturbances to a minimum

High vegetation around colonies

Note: Defense area extends beyond 150 feet circumference

Some flies resemble bees, hornets, and wasps.

1. Antennae – fly antennae are really short. Worker bee antennae are longer.

2. Eyes – only bees working will be workers. The eyes on a fly wrap around the top of the head, like a drone bee.

3. Number of wings – flies have two, bees have four.

http://beeinformed.org/2013/07/bee-mimics/

The Hive and the Honey Bee: pages 716, 735, and chapter 26 – Allery to Venomous Insects – pgs. 907-952

Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide

The Bees in Your Back Yard: A Guide to North America’s Bees

The Sand Wasps: Natural History and Behavior

Pollination with Mason Bees

Attracting Native Pollinators

Field Guide to Insects and Spiders