Tag Archive for: yellowjacket vs honey bee

“Killer bees” and “murder hornets” are two of the scariest-sounding insect names in American news. They’re often mentioned in the same breath, but they’re completely different animals with different risks. And for most people in the northern half of the country, the stinging insect that actually causes trouble every summer is neither one. It’s the yellowjacket.

This guide compares Africanized honey bees, the northern giant hornet, yellowjackets, and other common wasps, and shows you how to tell a bee from a wasp at a glance. It’s part of our Killer Bees 101 guide.

The short version

	“Killer bee” (Africanized honey bee)	“Murder hornet” (northern giant hornet)	Yellowjacket
What it is	A honey bee, Apis mellifera	The world’s largest hornet species, Vespa mandarinia	A predatory social wasp, Vespula spp.
U.S. status	Established across the southern U.S.	Declared eradicated from the U.S. in December 2024	Common nationwide; the German yellowjacket is Ohio’s dominant species
Stings	Once, then the bee dies	WSDA says its sting is more dangerous than a honey bee’s	Can sting repeatedly
Main danger to people	Mass stinging when a nest is disturbed	Dangerous sting, but no known U.S. population since eradication	Painful stings near nests and food; allergy risk
Main danger to bees	Can take over European honey bee colonies	Can destroy a honey bee colony within hours	Not a major threat to healthy colonies in extension guidance cited here
Body	Fuzzy, golden-brown	Very large hornet	Smooth, shiny, bright yellow and black

Killer bees: honey bees with a hair trigger

Africanized honey bees are the same species as ordinary honey bees. UF/IFAS entomologists stress that their venom is no more potent than a European honey bee’s; the difference is behavior. A disturbed European colony might send out 10 to 20 guard bees. A disturbed Africanized colony may send out several hundred and stay agitated for days.

Like all worker honey bees, an Africanized bee has a barbed stinger. It stays in the skin, and the bee dies soon after stinging. The danger comes from numbers. That’s covered in depth in How Dangerous Is a Killer Bee Sting?

Africanized bees are established in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern California, southern Nevada, Oklahoma, Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and large parts of southern Florida, according to Mississippi State University Extension. They are not established in Ohio or the Midwest. See Where Do Killer Bees Live?

“Murder hornets”: the northern giant hornet

The insect nicknamed the “murder hornet” is the northern giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, which USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) calls the world’s largest hornet species. Its biggest threat was to honey bees: APHIS says it is “known for its ability to decimate a honey bee colony within hours,” and WSDA says the hornets can kill an entire hive in as little as 90 minutes. WSDA also notes that their sting is more dangerous to people than a honey bee’s.

Its U.S. story is short:

• August 2019: first detected in North America, in British Columbia, Canada.
• December 2019: confirmed in Washington State near Blaine.
• 2020–2021: the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and partners found and destroyed four nests, all in alder tree cavities. Teams used radio tags to track live hornets back to their nests.
• December 18, 2024: after three years with no confirmed detections, WSDA and USDA declared the northern giant hornet eradicated from Washington and the United States.

APHIS notes that nearly half of the confirmed detections came from public reports. WSDA has said the hornets “got here once and they could do it again,” so agencies still ask the public to report suspicious large hornets. But as of the eradication announcement, there is no known population in the U.S.

Killer bees vs. murder hornets: which is more dangerous?

In today’s United States, Africanized honey bees are the bigger practical concern because they’re actually established here. They are a serious hazard where they live, especially to people who disturb a nest without knowing it, and to pets and livestock that can’t escape. The northern giant hornet had a more dangerous individual sting and was a severe threat to honey bee colonies, but it has been eradicated.

Yellowjackets: the real late-summer problem up north

Ohio State University’s Ohioline fact sheet on yellowjackets explains why these wasps dominate stinging complaints in the North:

• The German yellowjacket first appeared in Ohio in 1975 and is now the dominant species in the state.
• Colonies are annual. Queens overwinter, start nests in spring, and by August and late September nests reach about 4,000 to 5,000 workers.
• Nests are usually in old rodent burrows, mulch, rotted stumps, wall voids, and ceilings.
• From August to October, their diet shifts from protein to sweets, which is when they show up at picnics, trash cans, and soda cans.
• Unlike honey bees, yellowjackets can sting repeatedly, and they often do near the nest.

NC State Extension adds a point many people don’t expect: wasps such as yellowjackets and European or bald-faced hornets are often mistaken for honey bees, and “many of these wasps can be even more defensive than Africanized honey bees.”

Hornets and paper wasps

• Bald-faced and yellow hornets build the familiar papery, football-shaped nests hanging in trees and shrubs or under eaves. OSU notes their life cycle and habits are similar to yellowjackets’.
• Paper wasps build open, umbrella-shaped combs under eaves and railings. University of Arizona Extension describes wasps as more slender than bees, with smooth, shiny bodies and narrow hind legs. All of them can sting many times.

Bee or wasp? How to tell at a glance

From Ohio State and University of Arizona Extension:

• Hair: Honey bees are fuzzy and robust. Yellowjackets and other wasps are smooth, shiny, and mostly hairless.
• Legs: Honey bees have flattened, hairy hind legs and often carry yellow or orange pollen loads. Wasp hind legs are thin and cylindrical.
• Waist: Wasps have a noticeably thin waist.
• Wings: OSU notes wasps and hornets fold their wings lengthwise at rest and fly with their legs close to the body.
• Color: Yellowjackets are bright, sharp yellow and black. Honey bees are golden-brown and banded, not glossy.
• Nests: Honey bees build wax comb, usually inside a cavity. Wasps build paper nests, either enclosed (yellowjackets, hornets) or open (paper wasps).
• Behavior around food: If it’s crawling into your soda can in September, it’s almost certainly a yellowjacket.

What to do about each one

Africanized honey bees (southern U.S.): Don’t approach or disturb the colony. Keep at least 100 feet away, as USDA ARS recommends, and call a beekeeper or trained pest control operator. If attacked, run to a car or building and cover your face. Our step-by-step guide is What to Do If Killer Bees Attack.

Northern giant hornets: If you’re in the Pacific Northwest and see what you think is a giant hornet, photograph it from a safe distance and report it to your state department of agriculture. Don’t try to handle it.

Yellowjackets and hornets: OSU advises:
– Don’t mow over or disturb a ground nest, and watch where you step in mulch and tall grass.
– Never plug the entrance of a nest in a wall void, because disturbed wasps can find their way into the house.
– Never shine a flashlight at a nest entrance at night; the insects fly toward the light.
– Keep drinks covered and trash cans closed in late summer.
– OSU “highly recommend[s]” hiring a professional to kill and remove wasp nests.

For any stinging insect: OSU says to seek medical attention after more than ten stings, or stings in the mouth or around the eyes, and to get emergency care right away for trouble breathing or swallowing, throat tightness, confusion, or fainting.

Frequently asked questions

Are murder hornets still in the United States?

No known population remains. WSDA and USDA declared the northern giant hornet eradicated from Washington and the U.S. on December 18, 2024, after three years without confirmed detections.

Do murder hornets kill killer bees?

Northern giant hornets prey on honey bee colonies, and APHIS says they can destroy a colony within hours. Their U.S. range (northwest Washington) and the Africanized bees’ range (the southern U.S.) never overlapped, though.

Which stings more, a yellowjacket or a killer bee?

An individual yellowjacket can sting repeatedly, while a honey bee stings once and dies. Africanized bees are dangerous because hundreds may sting at once when a nest is disturbed.

Are killer bees a type of wasp?

No. They’re honey bees, the same species that beekeepers keep for honey. Wasps belong to a different family.

What insect stings the most people in Ohio?

In late summer, yellowjackets, especially the German yellowjacket, which OSU calls the dominant species in Ohio. See Are There Killer Bees in Ohio?

Related reading

• Are There Killer Bees in Ohio?
• How Dangerous Is a Killer Bee Sting?
• How to Identify Africanized Bees
• Killer Bee Myths vs. Facts

Sources

• USDA APHIS, “APHIS in Action: Victory Over the World’s Largest Hornet Species”: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/aphis-action-victory-over-worlds-largest-hornet-species
• Washington State Department of Agriculture, news release on northern giant hornet eradication (Dec. 18, 2024): https://agr.wa.gov/about-wsda/news-and-media-relations/news-releases?article=41658
• Ohio State University Ohioline HYG-2075, “Yellowjackets”: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-2075-11
• NC State Extension, “Africanized Honey Bees: Prevention and Control”: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/africanized-honey-bees-prevention-and-control
• UF/IFAS EDIS ENY-147, “Differences Between European and African Honey Bees”: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN784
• Mississippi State University Extension, “Africanized honey bees not established in Mississippi” (2025): https://extension.msstate.edu/news/feature-story/2025/africanized-honey-bees-not-established-mississippi
• University of Arizona Extension, “They are called Africanized Honey Bees”: https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/195020a.pdf
• USDA ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, “Africanized Honey Bees Overview”: https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/tucson-az/carl-hayden-bee-research-center/docs/africanized-honey-bees/africanized-honey-bees-overview/