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Honey Bees or Wasps? How to Tell the Difference
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what you have. Honey bees, wasps, yellow jackets and hornets all look alike from across the yard, but they act very differently, and the right person to call is different too. We remove honey bees only.
Quick look: honey bee or wasp?
| Honey bee | Wasp, yellow jacket or hornet | |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Fuzzy, stocky and golden brown to dark brown, with soft stripes | Smooth and shiny with a thin “waist.” Bright yellow and black, or black and white (bald-faced hornets) |
| Legs | Short legs. You may see yellow pollen packed on the back legs | Long legs that often dangle in flight |
| Nest | Wax comb inside a hidden cavity: a wall, a soffit, a hollow tree. Swarms hang in an open cluster | Grey paper nests, open comb hanging under an eave, or a hole in the ground (yellow jackets) |
| Behavior | Busy at flowers and water, mostly leave you alone. A steady stream of bees going in and out of one small gap | Hang around food, trash cans and drinks. More likely to buzz you and sting more than once |
Signs it is honey bees
- A steady line of bees flying in and out of one small crack, vent or gap, often in a wall, soffit or tree hollow.
- Bees clustered in a ball on a branch, fence post or shrub. That is a swarm.
- Wax or honey smell near a wall, or honey staining through drywall or a ceiling.
- Fuzzy, golden-brown bees visiting flowers nearby.
Signs it is wasps, yellow jackets or hornets
- A grey papery nest, either round and covered or an open umbrella of cells hanging under an eave, a porch ceiling or a branch.
- A hole in the lawn with yellow and black insects coming and going.
- Smooth, shiny, thin-waisted insects around your food, drinks or trash.
Not sure? Send us a photo
Stay back, take a picture from a safe distance and send it to us. We will tell you what you have. We remove honey bees only, so if it turns out to be wasps, hornets or yellow jackets, call a pest control company.
If you do have honey bees, keep kids and pets away from the spot and please don't spray them. We move the whole colony alive and give it a new home in our apiary. For the details, see our bee removal page.
Send a photo, get a quote
Take a photo of the bees, tell us where they are, and send it here. Cody looks at your photos and emails you the quote with the 50% deposit invoice. Honey bees only: we don't remove wasps or yellow jackets.
More bee removal guides
Questions we get a lot
How can I tell a honey bee from a wasp?
Honey bees are fuzzy and golden brown to dark brown with short legs and live in wax comb inside cavities. Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets are smooth and shiny with a thin waist and build grey paper nests or ground nests.
Do you remove wasps, hornets or yellow jackets?
No. We remove honey bees only. For wasps, hornets and yellow jackets call a pest control company.
What if I am not sure what I have?
Text or send a photo from a safe distance to 352-397-7608 and we will tell you whether it is honey bees.
4.9 from 117 Google reviews
Read our reviewsCody is professional, knowledgeable, and reliable. He was highly recommended by our pest company for a bee infestation in our home that we would have never been able to tackle on our own. He worked diligently to safely relocate thousands of bees from our exterior wall. He made frequent trips back and forth to resume work when weather was not in our favor. Definitely recommend!!
We unfortunately had a bumblebee nest in a fake plant near our front door. Very uncommon to say the least. Brainfood Honey, ie:Cody, was the only company that would relocate the nest and most importantly not harm the bees. Thank you so very much!
Absolutely wonderful experience. Great communication and arrived as promised. Cody removed a honey bee hive for me without any issues that was under the siding of my home. Great company to deal with! Highly recommended to anyone needing help with honey bees at their homes. Thank you for everything.
Love and appreciate this little honey shop in Spring Hill. I have been coming here for many years. It is a step back in time and amidst all new construction brings me back many years ago when all you heard was birds chirping & squirrels playing among the beautiful trees. Thank you for your shop.
Super easy to order and pick up! Also if you message them, they respond almost immediately which is a huge plus! We cannot wait to have it with our coffee when we get home!
We love to buy local honey when we travel. The understated roadside "Honey" sign got our attention while driving through Spring Hill and we're very glad we stopped! The honey is up there with the best we've had anywhere.
Ordinary sign, extraordinary honey!
We went through half a jar VERY quickly. The rest is coming back to Toronto with us.