what is the difference between a hornet and a wasp ?

Answer 1

Yellow Jacket
Vespula species

Yellow jackets are wasps with a mean sting, and they should be avoided if possible. The female stings aggressively, especially when defending her nest. Yellow jackets are particularly attracted to picnics and will land on bits of sweets and other food. When picnicking, keep food covered!

Look For: A stout body boldly banded with yellow (or white) and black; abdomen slim where it attaches to the thorax, creating a "waist" (pedicel). Wings are dark.Related Species:

Paper Wasps
Polistes species


Bald-faced Hornet
Dolichovespula maculata



Length: 5/8".

Habitat: Meadows, forests, urban and suburban areas.

Range: Widespread.

Paper Wasps
Polistes species

Paper wasps in the genus Polistes build small nests in protected places such as under roof eaves and in wood piles. Their nests are open, which means that the honeycomb-like structure of the cells is exposed from the bottom; other types of paper wasps build enclosed nests that have a spherical covering around the cells. They are often seen visiting flowers or drinking on the surface of pools and ponds. They are not aggressive but will sting if you disturb their nest.

Look For: Slender, reddish-brown to black body with yellow stripes.Related Species:

Bald-faced Hornet
Dolichovespula maculata


Yellow Jacket
Vespula species



Length: 1/2-1".

Habitat: Meadows, fields, gardens, buildings.

Range: Widespread.



Bald-faced Hornet
© E. R. Degginger
Color-Pic, Inc.

Bald-faced Hornet
Dolichovespula maculata

In spring the queen Bald-faced Hornet uses chewed wood to build a golf-ball-sized hanging nest out of gray pulp. She raises a generation of small female workers by herself. When they emerge, they bring food several times a day to the next generation of growing larvae. The nest is always constructed in the open and consists of many layers of cells that are covered on the outside, with the doorway at the bottom. In late summer, males mature from unfertilized eggs and mate. They die along with the queen, workers, and young; only young mated females live on. They hide during the winter in soil or among litter and will become queens and start their own colonies during the following spring.

Look For: Black-and-white pattern on body; dark wings; "waist" (pedicel) pinched in.Related Species:

Paper Wasps
Polistes species


Yellow Jacket
Vespula species



Length: 3/4".

Habitat: Meadows, forests, houses, barns.

Range: Widespread.

Answer 2

hornets live in the ground and are bigger with some color to them, wasps live in a hive up high and are all black.hornets are more likely to swarm in packs,especially when someone mows over their home.

Answer 3

hornet -Any of various large stinging wasps of the family Vespidae, chiefly of the genera Vespa and Vespula, that characteristically build large papery nests.

Answer 4

mostly hornets have black and yellow stripes, Wasps are just brown

Answer 5

The above poster (the first poster) is right, but I think they're black. Someone told me there is no difference, but there is otherwise they wouldn't sell different repellents. Either way, stay away from both of them.

Answer 6

hornets are skinnier and longer, bees are shorter and fatter

Answer 7

Don't know, but I don't want either one chasing me when I do the lawn.

Answer 8

there has to be some thing