whats the difference between yellow jackets and bees
Yellowjacket Yellowjackets are sometimes mistakenly called "bees" (as in "meat bees"), given that they are similar in size and sting, but yellowjackets are actually wasps. They may be confused with other wasps, such as hornets and paper wasps. Polistes dominula, a species of paper wasp, is very frequently misidentified as a yellowjacket. A typical yellowjacket worker is about 12 mm (0.5 in) long, with alternating bands on the abdomen; the queen is larger, about 19 mm (0.75 in) long (the different patterns on their abdomens help separate various species). Workers are sometimes confused with honey bees, especially when flying in and out of their nests. Yellowjackets, in contrast to honey bees, have yellow or white markings, are not covered with tan-brown dense hair on their bodies, do not carry pollen, and do not have the flattened hairy hind legs used to carry it.
Varroa destructor The adults suck the "blood" (hemolymph) of adult honey bees for sustenance, leaving open wounds and transmitting diseases and viruses. The compromised adult bees are more prone to infections. With the exception of some resistance in the Russian strains and bees that have Varroa sensitive hygiene (about 10% of colonies naturally have it), the European Apis mellifera bees are almost completely defenseless against these parasites. (Russian honey bees are one-third to one-half less susceptible to mite reproduction).[2]