Basic Bee Information

There are three types of honeybee - queens, drones, and workers

Worker bees are all female, just like the queen bee.  They do all the work in the hive, forage outside the hive, and take care of the queen and drones.

There is one queen in a hive. Many beekeepers mark the queen so she is easier to find.

Drones are male bees.   They do not work and cannot sting.  They only live to mate with the queen and then they die.

Many people think that wasps and hornets are also bees, but they are not.  One big difference is that wasps and hornets are usually more dangerous than honeybees because they can sting you more than once - they can be very bad-tempered.  A honey bee can only sting you once and then she dies, so she will not sting you without good reason.  However, you need to be aware of any Africanized honey bees (AHBs) in your local areas because they can be very dangerous too - do not stay around them or attempt to deal with them yourself unless you have been specially trained to do so. For more info on AHBs, see our AHB page

These are some of the more common stinging wasps and hornets. Do not play with them or their nests.  It is better to call a professional to deal with them or any bee swarms you might encounter.   We are building a list of people you can call in Pickens County - stay posted

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