Bees. Wasps. Bugs that Sting. Ants. Scorpions

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Shannon Jenkins
6 years ago
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1 Bees Wasps Scorpions Bugs that Sting Ants

2 Bitign and Stinigng Insects and other arthropods can bite with mouthparts, usually mouthparts designed to suck fluids

3 Insects sting with a modified ovipositor. Scorpions sting with a special structure on the tip of the abdomen.

4 Scorpions

5 Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion Some West Slope Scorpions Northern Scorpion Photograph by Bob Hammon

6 Pedipalps (chelae) for prey capture Scorpion chelicerae (jaws)

7 Stinger used for defense

8 Ultraviolet black light Natural light

10 Scorpions found in Colorado are not considered to be medically important

11 Fat-tailed Scorpions of Northern Africa The worlds most dangerous scorpions Arabian fat-tailed scorpion, Androctonus crassicauda

12 Arizona bark scorpion

13 Arizona Bark Scorpion

14 Western yellowjacket European paper wasp Most Common Insects that Sting Honey bee Baldfaced hornet

15 Bees, some wasps, and some ants have a stinger used for defense. The stinger is a modified ovipositor.

16 The ovipositor is the structure used by female insects to lay eggs.

17 Male and female house cricket

18 Bees, some wasps, and some ants have a stinger used for defense. The stinger is a modified ovipositor.

19 Some ant (females) have a functional stinger and (most) can inject some type of venom Ants do not have a barbed stinger

20 From the Ammonite production Smalltalk Diaries Ants in the subfamily Formicinae do not sting Some will use formic acid or other chemicals in defense

21 Harvester ants Pogonomyrmex species spp. Harvester ants are seed feeders

22 Harvester ants Pogonomyrmex spp. Distinct nest made of tiny pieces of gravel, usually with a southeast oriented entrance

23 Harvester ants possess a blunt stinger and can produce one of the most painful stings of any ant species

24 Uncle Milton s Ant Farm Harvester ants are the ant of commerce commonly sold to inhabit ant farms

25 How do flying insects find each other during mating swarms? hilltopping

26 Winged reproductive males and females meet over prominent points in the landscape

27 Harvester ants and the hilltopping phenomenon 1801 California Ave., Denver (Century Link sign at top)

28 Harvester ants and the hilltopping phenomenon

29 What is a bee? What is a wasp?

30 Common Families of Bees and Wasps Bees Apidae (honey bees, bumble bees, digger bees, carpenter bees) Megachilidae (leafcutter bees, mason bees, sower bees) Andrenidae (ground-nesting bees) Halictidae (sweat bees) Colletidae (plasterer bees) Wasps Vespidae (paper wasps, yellowjackets, hornets, potter wasps) Sphecidae (hunting wasps) Pompilidae (spider wasps Mutillidae (velvet ants)..other families of predatory Hymenoptera..myriad families of parasitic Hymenoptera. Gall wasps? (

31 Bees collect nectar and pollen. Pollen is used primarily for rearing young. Nectar is used primarily as an energy source for the adults

32 Wasps collect animal matter to feed their young. Adults may feed on nectar as an energy source.

33 Habits of Bees & Wasps Bees Social bees Perennial colony (honey bee) Annual colony (bumble bees) Solitary bees (leafcutter bees, digger bees) Wasps Social wasps (yellowjackets, hornets, paper wasps) Solitary wasps (hunting wasps, parasitic wasps)

34 Some solitary bees and some solitary wasps nest in stems and aboveground cavities Some solitary bees and some solitary wasps nest in the soil

35 Social bees use wax for nest construction Social wasps use paper for nest construction

36 The stinger of a worker honey bee is barbed

37 The only insect that regularly leaves a stinger in the skin is a worker honey bee Honey bee stinger and poison sac detach and remain embedded in skin

38 Honey Bee Sting on Human Skin University of Florida - Entomology and Nematology

39 Honey bee stinger and poison sac detach and remain embedded in skin

40 The stinger of all other bees and all wasps is not barbed

41 Social Structures of Wasps Yellowjackets Social Wasps Hornets Wasps Paper Wasps Solitary Wasps Hunting Wasps Parasitic Wasps

42 Common Social Wasps Note: All are annual colony producers Yellowjackets Social Wasps Hornets Wasps Paper Wasps Solitary Wasps Hunting Wasps Parasitic Wasps

43 Yellowjackets Vespula species

44 Western Yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) The most important stinging insect in western North America

45 The western yellowjacket feeds its young animal matter usually carrion or dead insects

46 Western yellowjacket scavenging on meat (left), dead earthworm (below, left) and splattered insects on automobile

47 They will commonly feed on meaty materials in outdoor dining areas

48 and also take sweets

51 Yellowjackets produce new nest every year. Nests are established in spring by a single queen. Nest are abandoned at the end of the season. Fertilized females queens produced near the end of the year are the only stage that survives between seasons.

52 Yellowjacket nests are always hidden, usually underground

53 Western yellowjacket nest exposed by skunk/raccoon digging

54 Note mud at entrance from excavations during colony expansion Western yellowjacket nest at base of wall and spruce tree in my yard

55 Nest form is a series of paper combs used for rearing larvae surrounded by a paper envelope

57 Nest entrances are often inconspicuous

58 Nest entrances are usually guarded

59 Wasp stingers are not barbed

60 Most Bee Stings Are Not Produced By Bees!!!! Yellowjackets are involved in 90%+ of all bee stings

61 Yellowjackets as pollinators? Marginal, at best.

62 Yellowjackets almost always nest below ground

63 Western yellowjacket nest located in an abandoned compost pile. This was dissected on September 28, 2018

64 About a foot below the surface the top of the nest was reached More complete excavation of the nest showed it to be about a foot in diameter

65 The entrance of the nest was about 18 inches from the opening to the outside of the compost pile

66 The only stage surviving between seasons are fertilized queens, produced in late summer and early fall. Nests are annual, constructed anew each year

67 Ultimate colony size can be many hundreds by the end of summer.

68 Developing brood were present almost all of which were reproductive forms (future queens, males) The nest consisted of multiple layers of paper comb.

69 Only a few females, fertilized potential future queens will survive between seasons.

70 A rough guesstimate of the number of capped brood > 750!!!!!! Date of nest dissection September 28

71 Many traps are sold to capture yellowjacket wasps

72 2015 Yellowjacket Trapping Trials

73 Traps that caught the most western yellowjackets in 2015 trials Rescue! OnamenTrap (Liquid trap) AlphaScent Lure with Yellow Card SpringStar (Oak Stump) Liquid Trap

74 Traps that are very poor in capturing yellowjackets

75 Most effective use of yellowjacket traps? Probably early in the year targeting overwintered queens

76 A rough guesstimate of the number of capped brood > 750!!!!!! Date of nest dissection September 28

77 Hornets Dolichovespula species

78 Baldfaced Hornet Dolichovespula maculata

79 Baldfaced Hornet Nests in Trees and Shrubs

80 Surface of a baldfaced hornet nest Baldfaced hornet chewing on weathered wood

83 Aerial Yellowjacket, Dolichovespula arenaria

84 Aerial Yellowjacket nests under eaves and on sides of buildings

85 The Stinger of Hornets is Not Barbed

86 Paper Wasps Polistes species, primarily

87 Paper wasp gnawing on weathered board for wood fibers

91 The food fed to paper wasp larvae Live insects chewed into bug burger

92 Paper wasps native to Colorado

93 Nests produced by native species of paper wasps

94 European Paper Wasp Polistes dominula A new species in Colorado (post 1998 in Western CO)

95 European Paper Wasp Nesting in Metal Building Support

98 European paper wasps in our clothes line

100

101 European paper wasp nest established on growing sweet corn!

102 Photograph courtesy of Joseph Berger/BugWood.org

103 Large Nest of European Paper Wasp

104 Some Impacts of the European paper wasp on the Rocky Mountain West Added a significant new stinging pest to region Highly visible Impacts on yard/garden Lepidoptera Impacts on some fruit production Stimulates stupid purchases

105 Nests are found everywhere and very frequently observed. Stings are common, although not as common as by western yellowjacket.

106 Impacts on yard/garden Lepidoptera

107

108 European paper wasps acting badly fruit injuries!

109 Western Yellowjacket European Paper Wasp

110 Note trailing legs of European paper wasp Western yellowjacket

111

112 European Paper Wasp vs.western Yellowjacket Predator of insects, primarily Produces open nests above ground Less likely to sting than most social wasps/bees Not attracted to wasp traps Scavenger. Commonly visits food and garbage. Produces belowground or hidden nest Readily stings when nest disturbed Attracted to wasp traps

113 Traps do not capture the European paper wasp or any other paper wasps

114 Social Structures of Wasps Yellowjackets Social Wasps Hornets Wasps Paper Wasps Solitary Wasps Hunting Wasps Parasitic Wasps

115 Hunting Wasps Families Sphecidae, Crabronidae, Pompilidae

116 Hunting Wasp Habits Solitary wasps no colony structure Young are fed paralyzed prey Nests are produced to rear young Dug in soil, plant stems Constructed of mud Existing cavities Adults can sting, but are not aggressive Sting of hunting wasps (Sphecidae) are mild Sting of spider wasps (Pomplilidae) are very painful

117 Ammophila wasp digging nest (left), carrying caterpillar prey (lower left), at nest entrance with prey (below)

118 Bembix wasp digging while holding horse fly prey

119 Golden Digger Wasp Predator of grasshoppers and katydids

120 Photograph by Bob Hammon Steel-blue cricket hunter with prey

121 Cicada Killer Colorado s largest hunting wasp

122 Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus a hunting wasp that nests in sandy soils Stink bugs and leaffooted bugs are prey for this insect

123 Insect prey collected from nests of sand wasps at a Longmont playground

124 Grass Carrying Wasps (Isodontia spp.) Predators of tree crickets

125 Kevin O Neill/MSU

126 Pseneo punctatus A hunting wasp that preys on leafhoppers, and nests in soil cracks (often around the edges of flower pots)

127 Black and Yellow Mud Dauber

128 Black and Yellow Mud Dauber (Scleriphon caementarium) Nest (top left), crab spider prey cache (top right), larva feeding on spider prey (below left) and cocoons of pupae (below right)

129 Spider Wasps Hymenoptera: Pompilidae

130 Tarantula Hawks

Joe Napolitano Suffolk County Community College Eastern Campus Math and Science Department

Getting to Know the Neighbors: Commonly Encountered Wasps in Suburban Settings Joe Napolitano Suffolk County Community College Eastern Campus Math and Science Department University of Sydney Species Scape