The Honeybee:
Honeybees have short hair covering part of their
body. Generally they are black and orange in
color. When flying the legs are tucked in and do
not hang down.

Honeybees are also very gentle when in the field
foraging for pollen or nectar. Honeybees live in
large colonies of between 20,000 and 70,000 bees.
They reproduce by swarming. This is when the
old queen leaves with approximately half the bees, 
to find a new home.

Yellow Jacket:
Yellow jacket are a part of the wasp family, but
are commonly mistaken for honeybees. When flying
you will see that their back legs hang down. There
is also no hair present on thier bodies.

Yellow jackets are  very aggressive carniverous
insects. They will eat meat, and anything containing
sugar. These are the insects that you commonly
see going after your soda, or food at picnics.

Yellow jackets will sting to protect a food source.

The Bumble Bee:
Bumble bees live in small annual colonies.
They do produce honey, but only
in very small amounts.

Bumble bees are very gentle when away from their 
colonies, maybe even more so than honeybees.

The Paper Wasp:

Wasps make their homes out of paper. It is usually
an upside down, umbrella shaped nest that you
will find hanging under the eve of your house.

Many people are afraid of wasps, including me. But
in reality, paper wasps are very gentle, only stinging
when they feel threatened, or to protect their nest.

The Bald Faced Hornet:

Hornets can be very aggressive insects,
especially when you are near their nest. Hornets
are part of the wasp family, but can easily be
mistaken for honeybees. The two main
differences is the bald face, and if you compare
the pictures, you'll notice that the hornet has no
pollen baskets on its legs.

Hornets make their homes in trees. The nest
is made out of paper, and resembles a paper
bag.