Bees and Wasps

	Bees & Wasps Most people dislike Wasps, gardeners included, but they are an ally really given that they eat all kinds of small insects and aphids. The Bees of course have always been recognised as a gardeners friend by pollinating the flowers and vegtables. Bees and Wasps can each be divided into two groups, Social and Solitary. Simply put British Social Bees are the Honey bees and the Bumble bees, which build nests containing many Bees which work together in the shared nest to bring up their young. While the Solitary Bees are those that as their name suggests live lives as a single Bee and only build a single nest cell for their young. Solitary Bees include Mining Bees and Leaf cutter Bees. Wasps are similarly divided, with the Common Wasps and German Wasp being social wasps which are the more common wasps that pester us while we enjoy our summer barbecue or picnic. Solitary wasps include the parasitic wasps.
	The Common Wasp and the German Wasp are very similar, but a way of telling them apart is by the face. The Common Wasp has yellow face with a black anchor like nose pattern as can be seen in the photo on the left. The German Wasp has a yellow face but the black nose pattern is three black dots in a triangular pattern.