Eastern Yellowjacket vs Red Dwarf Honey Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Eastern Yellowjacket Red Dwarf Honey Bee
Scientific Name Vespula maculifrons Apis florea
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Vespidae Apidae
Size 12-16 mm 7-10 mm
Habitat Woodlands Heathland
Diet Carrion Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Eastern North America from Canada to the Gulf states South Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Eastern Yellowjacket

A common ground-nesting yellowjacket with bold black and yellow banding on its abdomen. It builds large paper nests underground that can contain thousands of workers.

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Did You Know?

Its underground nests can grow to the size of a basketball and contain over 4,000 workers by late summer.

Red Dwarf Honey Bee

The smallest honey bee species, building single exposed combs hanging from tree branches. They are important wild pollinators across tropical Asia.

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Did You Know?

They communicate food locations using a waggle dance performed on the flat top surface of their single open comb.