Paper Wasps

Yellow Jackets

Bald-Faced Hornets

Cicada Killer Wasps

Weevil Wasps

Mud Dauber Wasps

Honey Bees

Bumble Bees

Small Carpenter Bees

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Paper wasps are one of the largest wasps in Minnesota. They have skinny bodies and long legs. Their bodies vary between black and brown with yellow or black stripes and orange antennae.

Length: 0.75-1.0 inches

Paper wasps are nicknamed the umbrella wasp due to their peculiar looking nests. Every spring, they build a new nest under soffits, gutters, mailboxes, or anywhere that remains dry from rain. Their nests have multiple hexagonal cells that are used to house their eggs and larvae. It takes around 3 weeks for an egg to turn into a worker wasp. By the end of the summer, one paper wasp nest can have between 30-70 workers. Workers either forage for food or nesting material. They forage for nectar and fruits, and they hunt for different insects to feed to their larvae.

Nest Size: 30-70 workers

When Active: April to October

Yellow jackets are commonly misidentified as honey bees due to their size and color, however, they do not have as much fuzz on their bodies. Their abdomens have more yellow than black, and they have black antennae.

Length: 0.40-0.60 inches

Yellow jackets are notoriously aggressive and territorial. They are capable of stinging multiple times. They build their nest in various locations, such as inside trees, man-made structures, underground burrows, and even aerial nests. They build nests from scratch each spring. By the end of the summer, their nest can have between 1,000 and 5,000 workers. Their diet includes sugar from fruits, vegetables, nectar, and human food, along with insects and meat. They are scavengers and consume dead or decomposing organic matter.

Nest Size: 1,000-4,000 workers

When Active: April to October

Bald-faced hornets are not true hornets. They are related to yellow jackets and other social wasps. They are referred to as hornets due to their aggressive nature and size. Named for their primarily white faces, these insects have predominantly black antennae, abdomens, and thoraxes.

Length: 0.5-0.65 inches

Bald-faced hornets build aerial nests that are at least 3 feet off the ground. Each of their nests is built in a teardrop shape. The nest is wider at the top and narrows to a tip, where the entrance is located. By the end of the summer, their nests have between 400 and 700 workers. They often sting or attack people who invade their space. They have smooth stingers that allow them to sting multiple times. The higher their nests are built, the less of a nuisance or threat they become to people and pets.

Nest Size: 400-700 workers

When Active: April to October

Cicada killer wasps are large, solitary wasps. Their thoraxes and abdomens have reddish-brown and black patterns, accompanied by brownish wings and light yellow stripes on their abdomens.

Length: 1-2.0 inches

As solitary wasps, they are not aggressive. They rarely sting unless they are stepped on, caught by hand, or stuck inside an article of clothing. They build their nest in underground burrows. They prefer to dig their burrows in sandy or loose clay soils. They break down the soil using their mandibles and kick the loose soil out of the hole with their hind legs. They catch cicadas and bring them back to their nest. At the end of the summer, a female will pick a cicada to lay an egg inside it. When the egg hatches, the larvae will feed on the cicada before entering a cocoon for the winter.

When Active: July to August

Weevil wasps are yellow and black, but mostly black. Their heads are yellow in the front and black on top.

Length: 0.5-0.6 inches

Weevil wasps dig underground tunnels for their nests. They often dig them in areas with loose soil. This includes places such as baseball fields, beaches, sidewalks, and roads. Inside the nest, a female lays one egg and flies off to find food for her larvae. A female weevil wasp catches and paralyzes a weevil or beetle with her venom. Once paralyzed, it stays alive inside the nest for the wasp’s larvae to feed on before turning into an adult wasp.

When Active: June to September

The two most common mud daubers in Minnesota are the common blue mud dauber (top) and the black and yellow mud dauber (bottom). They have a similar appearance with a narrow waist in between their thorax and abdomen. Their names describe their body colors; however, the blue mud dauber has all-black wings, and the black and yellow mud dauber has yellowish-black wings.

Length: 0.75-1.0 inches

Mud daubers are solitary wasps and are not known to be aggressive and rarely sting. They can be found near bodies of water, collecting wet mud for nesting material. They commonly build on homes and buildings made of stucco, brick, or wood. Their nests do not cause structural damage to homes and/or buildings. They construct nests to store their eggs. When a hole is visible on the nest, it means the larvae have already matured into adults and abandoned the nest. Females do not reuse old nests.

Blue Mud Dauber

When Active: May to August

Black and Yellow Mud Dauber

When Active: June to August

Honey bees have short, thick hairs on their thorax behind their heads. They are yellowish brown and have black stripes on their abdomen.

Length: 0.5-0.6 inches

In the wild, honey bees build nests inside of man-made structures, holes in trees, and cracks in rocks and retaining walls. They build their nests using wax produced by their abdominal glands. They chew on the wax to make it pliable and use it to build the hexagonal cells of the hive. When protecting their nests, they lose their stingers and die shortly after. They do not hibernate or die off like most wasps and bees do in the winter. Instead, they huddle closely together to stay warm and feed from their stored food supplies. This makes it possible for their nest to have 50,000-60,000 bees. All these bees play an important role in pollinating crops, flowers, and other plants during the spring and summer.

Nest Size: 50,000-60,000 workers

When Active: May to September

Bumble bees are easily identifiable by the short hairs covering their entire bodies. Their black and yellow hairs are used to help them trap pollen.

Length: 0.25-1.0 inches

Bumble bees build their nest underground, inside of man-made structures and in trees. Their nests can have up to 200-400 workers. Honey bee nests do not have the hexagonal cells that most wasps or bees have. Their nests are messy and disorganized. They are made out of the wax that is produced by the queen and workers. The shape of their nests is often not visible due to being underground or under heavy vegetation. Each nest is built from scratch every spring when the queen wakes up in search of a nesting location. Plants like dandelions and other early-blooming weeds are crucial for a queen bumblebee’s survival, providing the nutrients she needs to reproduce and establish a new colony.

Nest Size: 200-400 workers

When Active: April to October

Small carpenter bees have metallic bluish-green bodies. Their antennae look black from above and brown underneath, and they have small pollen-collecting hairs on the tips of their legs.

Length: 0.25-0.30 inches

Carpenter bees are solitary bees. They build tunnels or galleries inside wooden structures where they lay their eggs, store food, and find protection. Their tunnels are made into perfect circles just large enough for their bodies to fit inside. They create tunnels using their strong mandibles that are capable of breaking down wood. Their favorite wood to nest inside includes oak, redwood, and pine. They are more attracted to old, untreated wood that is soft and easy to chew through. They do not eat the wood, only chew through it. Their diets consist of pollen and nectar.

When Active: April to September

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