Types

• Wasps possess two separate pairs of wings and have three pairs of thin legs that hang down when the insect flies. Wasps also have antennae and three distinct sections---a head, abdomen and thorax.
  
  

Identification

• The "waist" of a wasp, where the abdomen connects to its thorax, is quite slender as opposed to, for example a bumblebee. Wasps also differ from bees in that their body is smooth and lacks hair.
  
  

Function

• The wasp's head has mouth parts designed for chewing, which it uses to eat its way out of its cocoon. The downward-facing mouth is also vital in defense and in constructing a nest.
  
  

Stinger

• Only the female wasp has a stinger, which is a sharp thin extension of its egg-laying body parts. Wasps have the ability to sting more than once, because the stinger does not have a barb that causes it to stick in its victim.
  
  

Color

• Wasps come in different color patterns. Baldfaced hornets, for example, are dark with white on the face, while yellow jackets are black and yellow