Do wasps sting or bite? Or both? We're in a heated discussion at work over this. I myself have been bitten.

Answer 1

Since the males have wings but no stingers, it is possible they may bite. Wasps are capable of biting, stinging is just more well known.

Answer 2

Wasps, like their relatives bees and ants, may both sting and bite. However stinging is much
more common in those which have stings, which
not all do. Their bites are relatively innocuous
in most cases, though some can pierce your
skin with a bite.

There is a group of stingless bees in the tropics,
but they are not unprotected. They bite first,
then curl up the abdomen and rub a secretion on
the bite. This has led to their common name in
Latin America of cacafuego, which means
sh*t fire. Some ants, such as the imported fire
ant, will grip the skin with their jaws then drive
their sting into the pinched up fold of skin. A
single sting is somewhat painful, but not very
bad, The problem with fire ants is that one
rarely gets stung by just one at a time.

Most of the commonly encountered ants in the
northern part of the U.S. lack stings, though some of them have repellent secretions that
might cause some irritation if they were smeared
on a bite. These stingless ants are very likely
to bite, but the bite is of little consequence.

Answer 3

You are both correct - It depends on the species - some have mouth parts that are capable of biting and others don't. Wasps with thin waists sting but do not typically bite - most of these types of wasps have mouths that are designed more for tearing and crushing small insects that are smaller than the mouth. This type of mouth doesn't work very well on an object that is much larger than the mouth. Carpenter bees, and certain wasps and hornets have mandibles that end in sharp points that can puncture skin.

Answer 4

I don't believe wasps bite. You may have been stung but thought you were bitten. Wasps, unlike bees, do not lose their stinger and die when they sting. Unfortunately for us, wasps can sting you as many times they like and fly off happy like you were their one night stand. What makes you think you've been bitten?

To read more about wasps, click the link.

Answer 5

I have been both stung and bitten by yellowjacket wasps, and I can assure you that they do both.

The sting is the most painful, as they inject toxins which create intense burning and pain, but the bite can do considerable damage as well. Their little mandibles are quite capable of slicing through wood to make pulp for their nests, and seem to have little difficulty with human flesh.

Answer 6

The only thing I can see that talks about them biting is this:

"Sean O'Donnell knew that some insects bite their nestmates as a form of communication. Wondering exactly what the biting might mean, he removed some active foragers from four wasp colonies to see how new foragers are recruited."

So, unless you are a "nestmate", I think you need to watch out for the OTHER end of them!

Answer 7

Both. I think stinging is far more common thogh. If the bite swells it is a sting.

Answer 8

have you ever seen a wasp? They have a huge stinger on their ***. Obviously they sting.

Answer 9

They do bite, but it's much more rare to be bitten than to be strung.

Stigging to their defense, not biting.

Answer 10

Sting. They have a big stinger on their back side.