Insecta › Hymenoptera › Apidae
Western honey bee
A colony in midsummer can hold 40,000 to 80,000 bees, almost all of them sisters.
Field Guide · Chapter 20 of 29
Bees, ants and wasps
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Insecta › Hymenoptera › Apidae
Asiatic honey bee
10 or more males
This honey bee defends its hive from hornets with feces and even human urine.
Insecta › Hymenoptera › Apidae
Violet carpenter bee
Among Europe's largest
This bee rarely fights, and it attacks only when forced.
Insecta › Hymenoptera › Vespidae
European wasp
About 13 mm long
Workers have been found reproducing even while a queen is present.
Insecta › Hymenoptera › Eumenidae
European paper wasp
35% of wasps unrelated
Its nest saliva protein has been cloned to waterproof biodegradable drones.
Insecta › Hymenoptera › Formicidae
Red wood ant
100,000 to 400,000
Old, multichamber nests may hold well over 100 egg-producing females.
Insecta › Hymenoptera › Formicidae
Weaver ant
Up to half a million
Weaver ants stitch leaves into their homes with silk made by their own larvae.
Insecta › Hymenoptera › Formicidae
Army ant
Up to 200,000 ants
Over 500 other species live around its colonies, more than for any other single species.
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