Which of the following is true about yellow jackets?

Yellow jackets do not have barbed stingers, which distinguishes them from honey bees. Honey bees possess barbed stingers that get stuck in the skin of their target, leading to their death after they sting. In contrast, yellow jackets have smooth stingers, allowing them to sting multiple times without any harm to themselves. This characteristic contributes to their aggressive behavior, especially when defending their nests or foraging for food. Understanding this anatomical difference is crucial for beekeeping and managing interactions with these insects.

In terms of their classification, yellow jackets are part of the wasp family rather than the honey bee genus, which is why they do not make honey in the same way honey bees do. While yellow jackets do store some food resources, they do not produce the same type of honey that is associated with honey bees or use it for winter survival.