Wasps and bees are two species that are often seen in summer when playing outdoors or having a picnic. Seeing them at the same spot is rare, but can happen. So, people often think that wasps and bees can live together without any problems, but it turns out that this is far from the truth. You may ask yourself: can wasps and bees live together?
Wasps and bees can’t live together. Wasps are a predatory species and they sometimes hunt bees for food. It’s very unlikely that they’ll live together in cohabitation and it’s impossible for them to mate and have viable offspring.
However, the correlations drawn between wasps and bees are interesting, and there are quite a few things that have to be taken into account when looking at their coexistence. In today’s article, we’ll be taking a closer look at how wasps and bees work and how their relationship is. Today, we’ll be answering questions like: can wasps and bees mate, can they live in the same territory, why do wasps eat bees, and can wasps destroy a whole beehive.
Let’s get started!
Can Wasps and Bees Mate?
These two species cannot mate and produce viable offspring since their genetic materials are incompatible. Even if they could go through with the process, mechanically – it would amount to nothing. Wasps and bees also can’t mate because they reproduce in different ways.
When it comes to bees, a mating flight is conducted with thousands of male bees waiting for the arrival of a virgin queen. And only a few male bees will be allowed to mate.
A male drone will mount the female queen and insert his endophallus in her. Then, genetic material is passed by the male into the female queen, and as the male bee pulls away, his endophallus is ripped off (ouch) and it remains attached to the queen.
This cycle is repeated by a few bee drones, and the new suitor will remove the previous endophallus and insert his own. Male drones usually die shortly after mating because a part of their body is literally torn away. Even when he survives, he’ll still be removed from the colony because he’s served his purpose and isn’t useful anymore.
When a virgin queen mates, she’ll retain approximately 100 million sperm within her oviducts. This will ensure that she has enough sperm to fertilize any future offspring, and if she runs out, then a new generation of queens will serve the colony.
Wasps, on the other hand, mate differently. They don’t have a mating flight and usually, only one (or just a handful) drone(s) do mate. The male will have sex with the female, and he won’t die from being ripped apart. The drone will be rejected from the nest and starve to death.
The wasp queen remains fertilized until she starts her new colony where eggs are laid into smalls pods or sacks. She’ll then work tirelessly to feed the young larvae as they hatch until they become adult workers and take over the task.
Can Wasps and Bees Live in the Same Territory?
Wasps and bees definitely can live in the same territory, but it’s likely that bees won’t be large fans of this, because wasps are their enemies sometimes.
They can live on the same territory, but they prefer not to because bees are ‘afraid’ of wasps. Living in the same territory means sharing water spots and other feeding sources. This will cause rivalry setting the predators in a better position.
Bees are actually pretty vulnerable, so they have many natural predators. Wasps, on the other hand, despite also having some natural predators, aren’t that sensitive to bees.
There are even times when wasps actively hunt bees and seeing them as prey. So bees don’t get along with wasps and hornets.
Why Do Wasps Eat Bees?
The simple answer – for food. Wasps will collect meat and carrion early in the year, so they can chew on them and feed them to their larvae in the nest. The protein helps the new bodies to grow. Wasps will actively look for bees during this period, rip their heads off and chew on them to have the food they can then feed to larvae.
But wasps do not only eat bees and raid much other prey like spiders, flies, and caterpillars. Besides this protein-rich food, adult wasps do need sugary food for their own. That’s why their main food sources include nectar, fruits, and plant juice. So bees are only one minor point on the menu.
But wasps also like honey and are sometimes attacking bees because they want access to their beehive.
Can Wasps Destroy a Whole Beehive?
It’s true that wasps can destroy a whole beehive, but it’s a rare event and unlikely that they’ll do that. The common Yellow Jacket could potentially try an attack too, but the chances of a successfully destroyed hive are low. So they only conduct this raid when truly necessary.
But there are some wasp species that will be more aggressive to hives. This is especially true for the Japanese Giant Hornet which is able to destroy a whole beehive with thousands of inhabitants in minutes.
This aggression isn’t the normal beavior of demoestic wasp species in the U.S. The usual attack is conducted outside of the hive and it’s purpose is to kill some bees as prey.
