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Mexican Honey Wasp

Brachygastra mellifica (Say, 1837)

Family Vespidae, Subfamily Polistinae, Tribe Epiponini

One of the very few insects other than bees to produce and store honey

western Bee County, Texas
June 7, 2004 (Jimmy Jackson)

Joyce Naylor stands next to a Mexican Honey Bee nest she found near her property.
Nest was about 15 inches tall and 12 inches in diameter.

Texas Brachygastra mellifica Records

(Travis County is a sight record)

Extensive life history discussion here

Workers are mild mannered by vespid wasp standards but sting hard when sufficiently provoked. 
The sting is barbed and stays in the wound if the victim is a human or other large animal. (Hogue, 1993)

Hogue, C. 1993. Latin American Insects and Entomology. University of California Press, Berkeley. xiv + 594 pp.

22 Nov 2008  © Mike Quinn / entomike@gmail.com / Texas Entomology