Bee and Wasp Nest Identification: 8 Nest Types

Look at what the nest is made of. Bees build with wax: honey bees make large sheets of six-sided wax comb, and bumble bees make a loose cluster of wax cells inside dry grass or other plant material. Wasps and hornets build with paper they make by chewing wood pulp with saliva, which is why their nests look grey, tan or striped. Mud daubers use mud (Orkin Canada; University of Minnesota).

If you cannot see the nest material, look at where it is and how it is shaped:

• An open, umbrella-shaped comb with no outer cover, hanging from a single stalk under eaves or a railing: paper wasps.
• A closed, grey, ball or football-shaped paper nest with the entrance at the bottom, often high in a tree: bald-faced hornets.
• A hole in the lawn or a gap in a wall with a steady stream of yellow and black insects: usually yellowjackets.
• Neat round holes in a deck, fascia or fence: carpenter bees.
• Many small holes in bare or sandy soil, each with one bee: solitary ground-nesting bees.

• Honey bees: large nests of six-sided wax comb, inside tree cavities, under the edges of objects or in rock crevices (Orkin Canada); most colonies live in beekeepers' hives, with some wild ones in tree cavities (University of Minnesota).
• Bumble bees: a messier nest of wax cells surrounded by dry grass, in rodent holes, leaf piles, structural voids or old bird nests, at or below ground level (Orkin Canada; University of Minnesota).
• Carpenter bees: tunnels in wood with a round entrance about the size of a drill hole, in dry, unpainted, weathered wood such as railings, eaves, window sills, doors, decks and fences (Orkin Canada).
• Ground-nesting solitary bees: mining bees in sand or sandy loam, sometimes in lawns; sweat bees and digger bees in other soils (University of Minnesota).
• Yellowjackets: multi-layered paper nests with 500 to 15,000 cells, in hollow trees, wall voids, sheds, garages, attics or in the ground (Orkin Canada). UC IPM gives colony sizes of 1,500 to 15,000 individuals for ground-nesting species.
• Bald-faced hornets: a round, grey paper nest with the entrance at the bottom, usually 10 to 20 feet up in a tree (ABC Wildlife); the University of Minnesota notes these aerial nests can also be on structures.
• Paper wasps: a small, single-layer paper comb with open cells and no outer shell, hanging from a stalk under eaves, in door and window frames, on fences, grills, play sets and mailboxes (Orkin Canada; University of Minnesota). Colonies hold 15 to 200 wasps (UC IPM).
• Mud daubers: clusters of mud tubes plastered side by side on walls and in sheltered parts of buildings (Orkin Canada).

The University of Minnesota's pollinator guidance says most bees are docile, and that the social wasps people meet most often, yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets, are the ones that can be aggressive.

• Honey bees: leave established colonies alone; if one must move, contact a local beekeeper (University of Minnesota).
• Bumble bees: docile, rarely sting; avoid disturbing the nest (University of Minnesota).
• Ground-nesting solitary bees: beneficial native bees; tolerate the nesting area and avoid pesticides (University of Minnesota).
• Mud daubers: solitary and not aggressive; leave the nests (University of Minnesota).
• Paper wasps: generally docile; remove only if the nest is in a busy spot (University of Minnesota; ABC Wildlife).
• Yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets: the nests most worth dealing with when they are near doors, paths or play areas (University of Minnesota).

A nest that is out of the way can often be left: UC IPM says yellowjacket and paper wasp colonies normally live only one season, although in mild climates some yellowjacket colonies survive several years.

UC IPM says that if a wasp nest must be eliminated, it is easiest and safest to call for professional help. Wasps are most likely to be in the nest at night, which is when professionals usually treat, but UC IPM notes night work carries its own risks. Orkin Canada likewise advises professional removal, partly because honey bees and other pollinators should be protected.

• Use only a product whose label lists wasps, and follow that label exactly.
• Anyone allergic to stings should not go near the nest.

Stings from bees and wasps are painful and can cause severe allergic reactions in sensitive people (Orkin Canada). Call emergency services at once for trouble breathing, swelling of the face, lips or throat, dizziness or a spreading rash after a sting. Many stings at once are also a medical problem: UC IPM notes that the waste products from a large number of stings can block the kidneys and lead to kidney failure that needs treatment such as dialysis. For ordinary stings and how they look, see bee and wasp stings.

Research and drafting for this page used AI assistance. Every figure, date and quotation was then checked line by line against the sources listed at the bottom of the page, each of which was opened while writing. Nothing here is medical advice. For any sting followed by breathing trouble or swelling beyond the sting site, get emergency care.

A hornet nest is a closed, grey paper nest with a smooth, layered outer shell and a single entrance, built from wood pulp the hornets chew with saliva (Orkin; Cooper Pest Solutions). In North America two kinds get called hornets, and their nests differ:

• Bald-faced hornet: an egg- or football-shaped nest hanging in the open, at least three feet up in trees, bushes or on eaves (Orkin), often from soffits or siding (Ladybug Pest Management). Penn State Extension records nests up to 24 inches tall and 18 inches across. Although called a hornet, it is a kind of yellow jacket (Texas A&M).
• European hornet: a hidden nest in a wall cavity, tree hollow, attic or shed, with the entrance usually more than six feet above the ground (Orkin). You usually see the hornets, not the paper.

A round grey ball in a tree is almost always bald-faced hornets. Yellow jacket nests look similar inside but are usually underground or in wall voids, and paper wasp nests have open cells with no outer shell.

Fewer than most people fear from the size of the nest. Penn State Extension says a bald-faced hornet colony grows to 100 to 400 workers, and a large colony in Pennsylvania has upwards of 300. Cooper Pest Solutions says a European hornet nest can support hundreds of hornets. Yellow jacket nests are far larger: 1,500 to 15,000 individuals depending on species (UC IPM).

Hornet nests are used for one season only. Queens start building in spring and the colony grows through summer (Cooper Pest Solutions). Penn State Extension says most of a bald-faced hornet colony, apart from the new queens that will overwinter, dies before or shortly after the first hard frost; only those queens survive the winter, in sheltered spots such as hollow trees and building walls. Orkin says nests are only used once, and Cooper says hornets do not usually return to old nests. So an empty grey nest found after the leaves fall is most likely abandoned.

Only if it is where people will disturb it, and usually not yourself. Orkin and Cooper Pest Solutions both advise professional removal: hornets are territorial and can sting repeatedly. Penn State Extension warns that treating only the outside of a nest angers the colony and raises the risk of stings for several days, and describes night treatment into the entrance as the effective approach. A nest high in a tree away from paths can often be left until frost ends the colony. Anyone who has had a severe reaction to a sting should not approach a nest.

If hornets are around but you cannot find the nest, UC IPM notes that traps work best as queen traps in late winter and early spring, and that inaccessible nests are a job for a licensed operator or your local vector control district.

Wasp nests fall into four types, and the type usually names the wasp:

• Open paper comb hanging like an umbrella: paper wasps. The nest hangs from a single stalk and its open cells are visible from below (UC IPM); Best Bees gives 6-8 inches across. Colonies hold 15 to 200 wasps (UC IPM). Found under eaves, in attics and under branches.
• Enclosed grey paper ball with one entrance hole at the bottom: hornets such as the bald-faced hornet, in trees, shrubs and under eaves; Best Bees describes them as basketball-sized or larger with 100-700 workers.
• Hidden paper nest in the ground or inside a wall: yellowjackets. UC IPM says they usually nest in rodent burrows but also in wall and ceiling voids; the comb is several tiers enclosed in a paper envelope with a single entrance, and colonies reach 1,500 to 15,000 wasps depending on the species. You usually see only the wasps going in and out of a hole.
• Mud tubes or lumps: mud daubers, which are solitary, one wasp per nest. See insect mud nest identification.

A single hole in a lawn with wasps flying in and out can also be a solitary digger wasp; Best Bees notes that ground nests of digger wasps hold a single female.

Yes, every year. UC IPM says yellowjacket and paper wasp colonies normally live only one season; the exception is very mild winters and coastal California south of San Francisco, where some yellowjacket colonies survive for several years. Best Bees adds that wasps do not reuse a nest after its season, and spend the winter sheltering elsewhere, such as in attics or tree holes.

So a paper nest you find in winter is usually empty and will not be reoccupied. Best Bees suggests knocking old nests down in early spring before wasps return and cleaning the area. Mud nests are different: blue mud daubers do move into old mud nests.

Watch the wasps. UC IPM notes that wasps flying directly in and out of a single location are probably flying to and from their nest. Stand well back and follow the flight line to an eave, a gap in siding, a hole in the ground or a shrub. Yellowjackets often nest in old rodent burrows or wall voids (UC IPM), so check low holes along walls and the lawn as well as high corners.

Once you find it, UC IPM's advice for a nest that must go is to hire a pest control professional, which reduces the risk. Wasps become more defensive late in the season as colonies grow and food gets scarce (UC IPM).

"Hive" is mostly used for honey bees, and the difference that matters is how long the home lasts. The Connecticut Beekeepers Association says honey bees nest in hollow trees, hive boxes or other man-made structures and never in the ground; their colonies persist year-round and can last for years. Wasp nests last only one season. Bumble bee nests are also seasonal: the Bumblebee Conservation Trust says they usually last 2 to 6 months and are never reused, because each queen starts her own nest from scratch.

So a colony living in a wall void or tree for years is honey bees; a nest that appears in spring and is empty by autumn is bumble bees or wasps.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust describes queens choosing sites by sight and smell: underground burrows, bird boxes and roof spaces are common. A well-established nest can hold up to 400 bumble bees and reach about the size of a small football, while some species peak at only around 50 workers. Nests usually last 2 to 6 months.

It says nests are not very common and can be hard to find, and it recommends leaving them in place: they last only a few months and cause no structural damage. ABC Wildlife notes that bumble bees nest in abandoned burrows and surface crevices, with a waxy comb built far more haphazardly than a honey bee's.

In spring, for the seasonal nesters.

• Bumble bees: queens come out of hibernation in spring and start looking for nest sites (Bumblebee Conservation Trust).
• Carpenter bees: young adults overwinter in the tunnels, mate in spring and then begin nest building; the new generation emerges in August (Penn State Extension).
• Honey bees: an established colony does not start over each year; it persists for years (Connecticut Beekeepers Association). A cluster of honey bees hanging from a branch is a swarm looking for a new home; it is not aggressive if left alone, and the association advises calling a local beekeeper.
• Autumn: ABC Wildlife notes that as fall approaches, colonies produce males and new queens, which is when seasonal nests begin to wind down.

A carpenter bee nest is a tunnel inside wood, so what you look for is the entrance. Penn State Extension describes a nearly perfectly round hole about 1/2 inch across; the bee drills about an inch in, then turns at a right angle and tunnels along the grain. The bees prefer wood more than two inches thick.

• Tell it from a bumble bee: the top of a carpenter bee's abdomen is shiny black and hairless; a bumble bee's is covered in hair, including yellow (Penn State Extension).
• Use the males as a pointer: males, which cannot sting, hover near nests and are the bees most often seen; females can sting but seldom do unless handled (Penn State Extension). Where males keep hovering, check thick exposed wood nearby for the round hole.
• Prevent the next round: Penn State Extension advises filling holes and then painting or varnishing wood in the fall, noting that stained wood is not usually protected.