Bee ID

Honey Bee		Yellow Jacket

The above photos show:

Honey Bee
Honeybees live year round, their size ranging from ½” to ¾”. They can be observed as a giant swarm migrating, or as 5 to 20 buzzing around an eve, chimney, or other structural openings. New honeybee swarms consist of 4,000 to 6,000 bees. An active hive generally has 10,000 to 50,000 bees and 20 to 80 lbs of honey. Respectively, there is no such thing as a small hive.
Yellow Jacket
Often mistaken for honeybees, they are similar in size to a honey bee, but are brighter yellow; they have a rapid, side to side flight pattern prior to landing. Yellowjackets are scavengers eating meats and sweets. They have a stinger without barbs and can sting repeatedly without dying. They are very aggressive, defensive, and are generally found in holes in the ground; though occasionally nest in places similar to honeybees. Seasonally, yellowjacket colony’s reach a size of 4,000 and 5,000 workers and a nest of 10,000 and 15,000 cells in August and early September.