Worker bumble bees grow to between ½ and 1 inch in length, the queens grow to be slightly larger- ¾ to 1 inch in length. Bumble bees have an oval shaped body and they have an overall fuzzy appearance that they are very well known for. Their body is black with yellow stripes, although some species might have more orange or reddish stripes.  A sting from a female bumble bee can be painful and cause considerable swelling.  Bumble bee nests look like piles of debris and are often found near the ground in pre-existing holes, such as rodent burrows. 

​Despite their name, bald-faced hornets are not true hornets; they are actually more closely related to yellow jackets. They are only referred to as a hornet due to their large size. Baldfaced hornets have a long, thin, wasp-like body; workers grow to between ½ and 5/8th of an inch in length; the queens are even larger in size. Baldfaced hornets are black in color except for an off-white color pattern that is found on the face, at the end of the abdomen, and on the thorax. These stinging insects make paper-like aerial nests.

The European hornet is the only true species of hornet found living in the United States. Adults have a long body that is brown and yellow in color, their face is paler in color. European hornets are very large in size and grow to between ¾ and 1 ½ inches in length. This species of stinging insect is very aggressive and will attack any perceive threat without hesitation. Their nests are typically located in a cavity, such as a hollow tree, wall void, or in between rocks.

Adult mud daubers grow to a fairly large size- between 1 ½ and 2 inches in length. In general, they have a narrow waist, with a thread-like segment between their thorax and abdomen that causes them to look like they have been “stretched”. They can range in color from black to metallic blue and may or may not have yellow or green markings. Unlike most stinging insects mud daubers are a solitary species of stinging insect; they were named after the unique nests that they create out of mud and other natural materials.

Paper wasps have a very wasp-like appearance; they have a pinched waist and long thin legs that can be seen dangling below their body as they fly. Adult paper wasps grow to between ½ and 1 inch in length. Their bodies are black or brown in color and can have yellow markings, oranges markings, or markings that are a combination of both yellow and orange; their wings are grayish in color. Paper wasps received their name from the paper-like material that they create to make their umbrella shaped nests with.

Yellow jacket adults have a distinctive segmented body with a thin waist; they are hairless and have elongated wings, when at rest yellow jackets fold their wings laterally against their body. Adults typically grow to between 3/8th and 5/8th of an inch in length. The yellow jackets face and head is a combination of black and yellow colors, while their body has a well-defined yellow and black stripped pattern on it. Yellow jackets are a species of social wasp that are responsible for some pollination, but are mostly known as a predatory species.  They prey upon other insects, including caterpillars, grubs, and flies.  Yellow jackets are typically ground-nesters but some build aerial nests on houses and buildings or in bushes and trees with low-hanging limbs. 

Often mistaken for bumble bees because of their size, carpenter bees are large, black, and yellow bees.  They are often found tunneling in wooden decks, windowsills, overhangs, and other unpainted wood sources including trees.   Another distinguishing feature, carpenter bees have shiny, black tail sections.  

While carpenter bees tunnel in wood to create nests, the damage that occurs is typically from woodpeckers trying to reach the larvae in the holes.