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)