The Science:

People often get bees and wasps confused and for good reason! They are close cousins on the evolutionary tree. Ants, bees and wasps all belong to the hymenopteran order of insects, which originated in the Triassic period. They evolved social behavior during the Cretaceous. This song describes one of the ways you can tell the difference between a honey bee and a yellow jacket (a kind of wasp). Wasps can sting multiple times, but honey bees die after leaving their stinger in a victim, so they can only sting once!

The Lyrics:

Little insect next to me

You’ve got six legs, that I can see

I think that you might be a bee!

But I can’t really tell so easily

 

You’ve got four wings and yellow stripes

You sting me once, you sting me TWICE?!?!

Now I know you’re not a bee!

A yellow jacket’s not a bee!!!

BUT:

They’re both hymenoptera (X4)