WEBVTT - What's the Difference Between Hornets and Wasps? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.520 Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:10.440 brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, many of us use the 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.120 words hornet and wasp interchangeably, but that's a vast over 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:18.279 generalization that doesn't disservice to these winged creatures. Understanding the 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:21.360 differences between hornets and wasps might help you make better 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:25.160 pest control decisions, prevent you from killing beneficial species, and 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:27.920 of course, might keep you from getting a painful sting. 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:32.680 Here's the biggest thing to know. All hornets are wasps, 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:37.440 but not all wasps are hornets. We spoke via email 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:40.959 with Jason Gibbs, Assistant professor of anomalogy at the University 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:44.760 of Manitoba. He said, hornets are just a kind of wasp. 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:47.640 Wasp is a very broad term that covers many different 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:52.000 species with different lifestyles. There are indeed more than one 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:55.280 hundred thousand species of wasp on Earth, each, a testament 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.680 to the startling diversity in these winged bugs. They're found 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.120 in every part of the world, excep up for polar areas. 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.520 It's usually easy to identify them, as they most often 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:07.800 have black and yellow stripes, a well defined and narrow waist, 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:12.760 and a tapered abdomen. Hornets are generally a little chubbier 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:16.520 and larger than there spelt wasp brethren, and some species 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:19.240 have white and black markings instead of yellow and black. 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:23.200 Their increased size means they also carry a substantial load 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.280 of venom, so in some cases these insects are more 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:30.040 dangerous than other kinds of wasps. Fortunately, if you leave 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.000 hornets and wasps alone, they generally want nothing to do 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.840 with you either. Wasps and hornets cho upwood fragments and 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:40.040 use the resulting pulp to build their signature papery nests. 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:43.600 You'll find these nests, which have a honeycomb style segmentation 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:48.040 on many horizontal surfaces, including roof eaves, garage ceilings, and 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:52.960 other places, dangling from a single thin thread. Some hornets, 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:55.680 like the giant European hornet, may also burrow into the 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.520 ground to build nests. Their nests may be as large 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:03.760 as a foot in diameter. Wasps, like bees, are incredibly 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:08.919 important pollinators, helping to keep plant life and agricultural crops healthy. 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:12.520 They tend to chow down on caterpillars and harmful flies, too, 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:16.359 making them beneficial to humans. That's one reason some places 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:21.200 like Germany banned people from disturbing these creatures. Wasps also 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:24.800 exhibit a voracious affinity for sugary foods and drinks, and 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.919 as such, they often make themselves unwelcome guests at outdoor 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:32.359 gatherings like picnics or sporting events. Furthermore, they also love 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:36.000 the sweet deliciousness of rotting partially fermented fruit that falls 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:38.720 to the ground. In autumn, they'll gorge themselves to the 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:42.200 point that they'll become drunkenly aggressive, sometimes chasing pets or 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:46.520 people if they feel annoyed or threatened. As their natural 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.639 food sources continue to dwindle in the fall, these insects 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.600 may become even bolder, one reason you should limit easy 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:56.040 access to human foods that keeps you and the wasps 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:00.680 safe from harm. While hornets may eat fruit or picnic food, 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.280 they're much more likely to feed on insects like crickets 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:08.680 and grasshoppers. Wasps are broadly divided into two categories, social 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:13.440 and solitary species. Social species include paper wasps, yellow jackets, 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:19.600 and yes hornets, but most wasp species are regarded as solitary. 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:23.639 Females live alone and reproduce using some notable techniques, including 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:27.000 laying eggs on other creatures like spiders, which they paralyze 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.480 and hold hostage in their own nests, eventually killing the hosts, 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:35.200 which then serve as food for wasp larva. Social species, 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:37.880 on the other hand, live in large colonies and populations, 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.760 often exceeding a hundred members with an egg laying queen, 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:43.520 as well as workers that do not reproduce, which is 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:47.960 called a use social nest. Gibbs said wasps and bees 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:50.960 have evolved social behavior more often than any other group 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.640 of animal, and interestingly, have lost it many times too. 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:59.360 This behavior has also been recognized in sweat bees Gibbs 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:03.720 area of Bertise. He said sweat bees are particularly interesting 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:06.520 for studies of social evolution because there are so many 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:10.040 back and forths in the evolutionary tree. In fact, you 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:13.640 can have use social and solitary nests within the same species. 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:17.520 It's incredibly complex and interesting and wonderfully all of this 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:21.320 is going on under our noses. Yellow jackets are yet 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.800 another type of social wasps. They're smaller and build ground 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:28.560 nests that may feature hundreds of individuals. Some people mistake 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.360 these pint size wasps, which have bodies around half an 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.200 inch long for bees As their ground nests expand, the 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:38.760 soil becomes looser and creeds sinkhole. If you're unlucky enough 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:40.800 to step into one of these sinkholes, you may find 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:43.400 yourself at the mercy of hundreds of angry yellow jackets. 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:48.360 But solitary wasps rarely sting. That's true, even if you 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:52.599 disturb their nests, they don't attempt to defend them. Social 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:54.960 wasps and hornets, on the other hand, can be extremely 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:58.120 aggressive if you threaten their lives or their nests. Often 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:02.480 they'll swarm intruders and deliver multiple stings. Squatting at wasps 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:06.360 is shall we say a bad idea. Doing so triggers 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:09.159 the insect to release pheromones, alerting other wasps to a 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:13.440 threat you and that it's time to attack. Even one 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.760 wasp sting can be very painful. Multiple stings might cause 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:20.440 serious harm, particularly to anyone who's allergic to the venom, 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.800 and in worst case scenarios, wasps might sting dozens or 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:26.760 hundreds of times and act that can kill even strong, 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.760 healthy people who aren't allergic to the venom. The best 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:34.599 strategy is to keep food covered outside, particularly sugary drinks, 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:37.880 so that you don't attract wasps. If one wasp flies 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.760 near you, remain calm, it will probably just fly off. 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.440 If a swarm comes near you, run away in a 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:52.120 straight line without waving your arms. Today's episode were written 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:55.080 by Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler Claying. Brain Stuff 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:57.039 is a production of I Heeart Radio's How Stuff Works. 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.320 For more in this and lots of other buzzworthy topics, 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:01.840 visit our home in it how stuff works dot com. 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.080 And for more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:06.920 iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:07.760 your favorite shows.