Social and Solitary Stinging Insects

(upbeat electronic music) [MICHAEL SKVARLA] Stinging insects can be classified as either social or solitary, based on how they live and interact with others of their species. Social insects live in colonies with a division of labor between a queen, worker females, and males. The queen lays eggs. Female workers gather food, care for the queen's larvae, and build and defend the nest. The male's only purpose is to mate with new queens. Examples of social stinging insects include honeybees, bumblebees, yellow jackets, paper wasps, and hornets. Colony size varies by species, ranging from small groups of a few dozen individuals to tens of thousands, like the honeybees you see here. Because only the queen reproduces, if she dies, the colony dies: therefore, social stinging insects are defensive of their nests when they feel threatened. Their ability to work together in large numbers makes them highly effective at both defending their nests and maintaining their complex societies. Next, let's look at solitary stinging insects. The majority of bees and wasps are solitary insects. Unlike social species, solitary insects do not form colonies. Each female builds her own nest and raises her offspring independently. Because they do not have a colony to defend, solitary insects are usually less defensive and only sting when threatened. Most bees, such as carpenter bees and sweat bees, are solitary. Most wasps, like mud daubers, also follow this lifestyle.