Yellow jackets are the closest relatives of bees, known for their ability to make honey and their unique industriousness. But do yellow jackets produce honey? Most of these insects are incapable of such work, but there are exceptions to the rule.
Exceptions
The answer to this question is affirmative only in relation to insects belonging to two species inhabiting South America, Argentina, and Mexico:
Polybiinae Occidentalis and the Mexican honey bee Brachygastra lecheguana.
They not only produce honey, but also store it for the winter, although their reserves are very meager compared to those of bees. The collected product is barely enough to feed all members of the family.
If bees produce 15-17 kilograms of honey per season, wasps are unable to collect even a kilogram.
Mexican honey wasps make nests out of paper, which they obtain by chewing wood and processing it with sticky saliva. Their dwellings (usually located among citrus trees) can reach half a meter in diameter. Like bees, they make honeycombs, but not from wax, as they are unable to produce this substance. Honey wasps, like bees, have a hierarchy. They have a queen, worker, drones. However, in terms of their development, they are significantly less advanced than their relatives.
All other yellow jackets do not produce honey
All other yellow jackets do not collect honey. Most often, yellow jackets can only destroy bee nests and eat the supplies they have stored. However, a layer of nectar can sometimes be seen on the walls of the striped insects’ dwellings, the total mass of which can only reach 20-30 grams in extremely rare cases.
But this product is formed spontaneously. The fact is that yellow jackets, feeding on plant sap, accumulate pollen and nectar on their legs, which they carry into the nest. Insects do not need to stock up for the winter, as they fall into hibernation when the cold weather sets in.
Therefore, it is not worth breeding yellow jackets or trying to destroy their nests for the sake of honey. You will not be able to obtain a useful product, but there is a high risk of being stung, as the insects are very aggressive.
Is it okay to eat Polybiinae Occidentalis and Brachygastra lecheguana honey?
Can this product be consumed? It turns out that South African and Mexican Indians have been collecting wasp honey since ancient times and using it for food.
They have not abandoned this practice in modern times, although it is impossible to collect large quantities of honey. It is not worth breeding wasps for the purpose of obtaining honey, as their productivity is incomparable to that of bees. Such production would prove unprofitable.
The remarkable qualities of this honey
Wasp and bee products differ in their basic characteristics: quantity, quality, taste, and beneficial properties.
Honey made by wasps is dark, viscous, and very thick. It has a fragrant floral aroma. The taste is pleasant and rich, but more reminiscent of nectar. The taste characteristics vary depending on the plants from which the pollen is collected.
The sweetness consists of sucrose, fructose, proteins, mineral elements (mainly calcium), and unprocessed pollen. There are no enzymes in the wasp product, as these insects do not have glands similar to those of bees. Therefore, honey quickly loses its viscosity and crystallizes.
Although the product collected by wasps is quite edible and nutritious, it is not particularly valuable for human health and is not used in folk medicine, as it is produced in small quantities. In addition, if honey is obtained from the pollen of poisonous plants, it can cause severe poisoning.
Conclusion
Most yellow jackets do not produce honey, with the exception of Polybiinae Occidentalis and the Mexican honey wasp Brachygastra lecheguana, which inhabit South America, Argentina, and Mexico.
