How Stuff Works: What’s the difference between a hornet and a wasp?

Entomologist Jason Gibbs helps readers of How Stuff Works understand the difference between wasps and hornets.

“Hornets are just a kind of wasp,” Gibbs, assistant professor of entomology at UM told the news site. “Wasp is a very broad term that covers many different species with different lifestyles.”

…”Hornets are predators [and] scavengers, as are most wasps,” says Gibbs. “From an evolutionary perspective, bees are also wasps.”