Length: workers 12mm - 15mm; queen to about 20mm.

The European Wasp is a social insect with bold black and yellow bands. The black bands have arrow-shaped black markings down the centre of the abdomen, and there are pairs of small black spots on the yellow bands. The wings are long and transparent, the antennae are black and the legs are mostly yellow. Queens are similar but larger. The European wasp is an introduced pest in southern parts of Australia. They are a pest both for their propensity to sting and their environmental impact on native insects and spiders, although they have some beneficial value as a predator of some pest insects. The European Wasp is similar in appearance to the related English Wasp (Vespula vulgaris). You can tell them apart by the pattern on the back - the European Wasp has black dots in the yellow bands but the English Wasp does not have dots. The European Wasp also has three black dots on the face, but the English Wasp does not. None of the Australian native paper wasps has such a striking black and yellow pattern.

European wasps are an introduced wasp native to Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia. They were first found in Australia in Tasmania in 1959, and near Melbourne in 1977. They have now spread through Tasmania, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, south-eastern New South Wales, and southern South Australia around Adelaide and the Adelaide hills, south western parts of Western Australia. Several nests have been found in south-east Queensland.

European Wasps are aggressive when defending their nest, and will swarm out to attack when disturbed. Stings are painful and multiple stings can be dangerous. The wasps are capable of stinging multiple times.

Adult workers wasps feed on sweet substances such as fruit and sugary secretions from sucking insects. They feed larvae in the nest with other insects and spiders, or pieces of meat from dead animals.

European wasps are social insects forming large colonies. Most of the wasps die in winter, but the queen hibernates and establish a new colony the next season. The first young become workers for the new colony. They build a paper nest from saliva mixed with chewed wood fibres. The nest can grow to 20cm in diameter, sometimes much larger. The nest is usually hidden underground or in a roof or wall cavity. Nests may contain several thousand wasps.

Only sting if provoked. Usually seen late-spring to mid-October. Nesting - Bare, untreated softwoods are preferred, including redwood, cedar, cypress and pine. Old nests are used year after year. Nests can be found in eaves, window trims, facia boards, siding, decks and outdoor furniture. Carpenter bees feed on flowers that contain pollen, eg Bradfords, Daffodils, Pansies. Pollen stored in abandoned tunnels for overwintering.

Carpenter bees tunnel into wood to lay eggs. Life cycle from egg – larva – pupa - adult takes approximately seven weeks. Larva is large and noisy. New adults emerge from the nest late August.

Honey bees are the species kept by Bee Keepers.

If you have a problem with honey bees, contact a local Bee Keeper or Environmental Health Department as they will be able to arrange for the swarm to be relocated.

Honey Bees defend their nest aggressively. The bee dies after stinging, as the sting is left in the victim, tearing out part of the bee abdomen. The sting, with venom gland pumping, is left in. Honey Bee stings cause intense local pain and swelling, and some people have severe allergic reaction.

Honey bees live in hollow trees or in chimneys, wall cavities or roof spaces. They are similar in size to wasps but are furrier and mostly black in colour. Honey bees convert nectar into honey and beeswax. A honey bee swarm will arrive in flight and cluster on a tree branch. A colony size can often be greater than 30,000 individual honey bees. The Honey bee population is under threat from varroa mite and have been listed as an endangered species.

Solitary bees do not swarm and rarely sting.

Solitary bees have small nests that are individually tended by a female.

Their preferred nest sites are often in soil, sometimes in soft cement and mortar between bricks.