Continue with Microsoft TeamsRead About Honeybees and Wasps
Vocabulary
Read the vocabulary terms to understand the reading better.
A beehive is a natural structure in which honey bees store honey, live, and raise their young.
Beeswax is what is made by bees to build their honeycombs.
A nest is a shelter made by an animal for its eggs and young.
A stinger is the sharp, pointed part of an animal that sometimes carries a poison.
The waist is the narrowed part of the body of an insect.
Honeybees and Wasps
Honeybees and wasps are insects that are the same in some ways and different in other ways.
Left: Honeybee Right: Wasp
Bodies
Honeybees and wasps both have wings and six legs. A wasp has a tiny waist in the middle of its body. A honeybee has a much thicker waist.
Nests
Honeybees build nests called beehives. Many bees live in one beehive. A beehive is made of beeswax. A bee’s body makes beeswax. Inside the beehive, honeybees make honey.
Wasps make nests out of paper. One nest is home to many wasps. To make paper, a wasp bites off and chews tiny pieces of wood. Then it spits them out. The chewed wood turns into paper when it dries.
Stingers
Both honeybees and wasps have a stinger at the back end of their bodies. The stinger gives you a sting when it goes into your skin.
Bees sting when they think they are in danger. That is why you should not swat at a bee that comes near you. A bee dies after it stings one time.
Wasps sting when they think they are in danger. Wasps also sting to protect their nests from danger. Wasps do not die after they sting once.
To learn more about bees, watch the video by SciShow Kids on Youtube.