Stinging Insects

What Is The Stinging Insect?

It probably doesn’t take a genius to understand that stinging insect’s sting. While this might be the case, there are still things that the name alone doesn’t tell you. The name doesn’t tell you pertinent information that can help with elimination and detection of the critter. Simply put, it’s all about data. You need data. Here’s what you need to know about stinging insects. Bees, wasps, yellowjackets, and hornets all fall into the stinging insect classification. They also fall into the Hymenoptera classification of which the ant also belongs.

What’s even more interesting is, some people refer to these critters as beneficial pollinators when they are stinging or threatening your property. The threat these stinging insects pose is determined by their temperament and aggression level. To understand more about these critters and the threat they pose, you need to understand more about the bug.

Identifying Stinging Insects

There are two different ways that you can identify a stinging insect. The first would be the appearance and the location of the nest. The next way would be the appearance of the insect itself. All of these things can tell you pertinent information about the insect. Here’s what you’ll need to know to get started:

The Paper Wasp

The paper wasp is an interesting one because there are actually two different types of paper wasps in Norfolk. These would be the European Paper Wasp and the Northern Paper Wasp. That being said, their nests are similar as well as their moods and temperaments. They are mid-level aggressive insects that won’t generally cause any problems until they are approached. The nests are smaller in size, grayish, and somewhat round in shape with a distinctive honeycomb pattern. These nests are usually located under eaves, under overhangs, or on fences.

European Paper Wasp

The European Paper Wasp is striped yellow and black with orange antennae. These critters somewhat resemble the yellowjacket, but just a much larger version. They are so large that they cant tuck their hind legs all the way into their bodies when fying. This makes them much slower flyers compared to the other stinging insects.

Northern Paper Wasp

The Northern Paper Wasp, on the other hand, has a brown body with orange areas, The abdomen is yellow and white striped, which makes it more distinctive than other classifications.

The Yellowjacket

Without a doubt the most iconic member of the stinging insect classification. This would be the yellowjacket, but there are still tons of things people don’t know about this critter. The first that needs to be known is, the critters is one with high aggression, especially during the late summer and early fall area. This is because the colony will be at its maximum size during this time of the year. The nests for these critters are usually found in attics, under porches, in bushes, and sometimes even under the ground. These are especially troubling because you can walk right up on them without a second thought. The nests are usually covered with gray and black colored paper-like material. The insect itself is a black and yellow striped body with a solid black head and antenna. They are extremely fast flyers because they possess the innate ability to tuck their legs into their body when they fly.

Bald-Faced Hornet

These guys are also highly aggressive during the summer and fall months. This is also because these are the times when the nests will be at their largest. That being said, these nests for these guys are much more distinctive. You won’t have to worry about accidentally creeping up on one of these. They resemble that of an inverted tear-drop and are usually located in trees, bushes, the side of buildings, and sometimes in undisturbed, tall grass. The bees are black and white in appearance with large heads, thoraxes and abdominal stingers.

The Honey Bee

With all the local honey for sale in Norfolk, you are no doubt familiar with the honey bee. You might not know everything, but you’ve likely seen honey from a comb-like hive. You’ve probably even eaten some, but you might not know that these nests are usually found in hollow trees or rock crevices. These bees are extremely low in aggression and sometimes specifically bred for gentleness. The insects themselves are orange/yellow with brown fuzzy bodies, heads, thoraxes, and abdominal stingers.

The Carpenter Bee

These guys are extremely low in aggression. They likely won’t even sting when approached. This is not to say they won’t. It’s just to say that the chances are extremely low. They bore perfectly round 3/8 inch holes into wood products like siding and fascia where they can rear their young. The bees themselves are amongst some of the largest, but yellow and fuzzy black in color with shiny hairless black abdomens. The males have yellow spot on their face and extremely easy to identify.

Are These Insects Dangerous?

As you just learned, not all stinging insects are aggressive. This does not, however, mean that they are not dangerous. All of these insects are dangerous, as they all transfer venom. If someone is allergic to this venom they can have adverse reaction when stung. There have even been plenty of cases where allergic individuals have gotten stung in Norfolk and died due to anaphylactic shock. There is also the species like the carpenter bee that can do extreme amounts of damage to wooden structures. They’d probably never do enough damage to compromise the integrity of a wooden structure, but you have to keep in the back of your mind that the possibility is there.

Why Do People Have Stinging Insects?

Stinging insects are as opportunistic as any insect out there. Given the opportunity, they claim a piece of property for their own. This is more than likely why they are on your property. They are claiming it for their residency.

How To Eliminate Stinging Insects

As a pest management professional in Norfolk, we cannot recommend anyone try eliminating stinging insects on their own. This is because the process can be extremely dangerous. This is especially true when dealing with the more aggressive breeds. Regardless, they can all be dangerous. If you’ve ever been stung before, you won’t know if you are allergic. While there are tons of DIY chemicals and insect removers available on the open market today, it is important to not that these products aren’t effective. Most might temporarily reduce insect activity, but they will not kill all the insect. It’ll be something that’ll certainly provoke an attack.

The chemicals and pesticides needed to effectively removing stinging insects aren’t available to the general public. All in all, the entire situation is just one that’s better left to the pest management pros. Give us a call and we’ll be more than glad to jump on the situation for you.

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