| Yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) | Predator | Non-native here | Western honey bee | Hunts foragers in flight at the hive entrance; colonies under pressure largely stop foraging ('foraging paralysis') | In 36 hives in Galicia, unprotected colonies had lower foraging activity, pollen income, brood production and worker body weight, and poorer winter survival — most where predation was intermediate to high. Electric harps reduced the effect. | Honey yield was not measured. Reduced foraging is the mechanism through which a yield effect would arise. | Spain: Galicia |
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| Yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) | Pathogen carrier | Non-native here | Western honey bee | Hornets that feed on honey bees carry honey bee pathogens: deformed wing virus in 83% and Nosema ceranae in 67% of samples from one Italian nest, with viruses actively replicating | Shows the pathogens pass from bees into hornets; does not show hornets passing them back to colonies. | None measured. | Italy: Bologna province |
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| Giant hornet (Vespa soror) | Predator | Native here | Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) | Attacks colonies in groups, chewing at entrances to break in, killing adult defenders and taking brood | Colonies respond by collecting animal faeces and spotting them around the entrance, which cut multiple-hornet attacks and chewing at the entrance — the first recorded tool use by honey bees. The response was not triggered by the smaller Vespa velutina. | None measured. | Viet Nam |
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| Greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) | Comb pest | Spread worldwide with beekeeping | Western and Asian honey bees | Larvae tunnel from the edges of unsealed cells holding pollen, brood and honey through to the midrib of the comb, leaving masses of webbing (galleriasis) | Heavy infestation leads colonies to abscond. Damage is most severe in tropical and subtropical regions; its potential to carry honey bee viruses is a concern not yet resolved. | Destroys comb, including cells of stored honey, and damaged comb cannot be reused; no yield figures in the source. | Worldwide; Africa |
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| Common and German wasps (Vespula vulgaris and V. germanica) | Competitor | Non-native here | Western honey bee | Invasive social wasps in New Zealand's beech forests feed heavily on the scale-insect honeydew the forest produces, and there have learned to track honeydew's own odour | They adversely affect native birds and invertebrate biodiversity, and take the same honeydew that honey bees collect in these forests. | The honeydew they take is the raw material of beech honeydew honey; the share taken is not quantified in the sources read. | New Zealand: Fuscospora (beech) forests |
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| Social wasps — common, German, red, tree, Norwegian and median wasps (Vespula and Dolichovespula species) | Robber and predator | Native here | Western honey bee | In late summer, when their nests are largest and their own food runs short, some species kill bees and rob honey and pollen. For most of the year they feed their young on other insects and are, in the National Bee Unit's words, of vital importance to the ecosystem | Predation can begin in July in a good wasp year, is usually noticeable from August and falls away from late September. A sustained attack can weaken a colony beyond survival; strong colonies defend themselves best. | Robbing removes stores, so a lighter hive is plausible; the honey lost in Britain was not measured in the sources read. | United Kingdom |
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| European hornet (Vespa crabro) | Predator | Native here | Western honey bee | A large native hornet that mostly hunts beetles, wasps and moths, and takes some honey bees at the hive | The National Bee Unit says it usually preys on colonies only to a small degree. Stable in the UK; decreasing in Europe, where nests are destroyed. | An effect on honey was not measured in the sources read. | United Kingdom |
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| European hornet (Vespa crabro) | Predator | Native here | Western honey bee | A native hornet, not aggressive in itself, which defends only near its nest | Specially protected under Germany's Federal Species Protection Ordinance: it may not be caught, injured or killed, and removing a nest needs a permit from the lower nature-conservation authority. | An effect on honey was not measured in the sources read. | Germany |
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| Common and German wasps (Vespula vulgaris and V. germanica) | Robber and predator | Non-native here | Western honey bee | Introduced wasps kill bees and larvae for protein and rob honey from hives | Beekeeper surveys put hives destroyed at 1.9% and seriously affected at 4.9% in 1974-75, and destroyed or seriously affected at 8.13% and 9.35% in 1985-86 and 1986-87 — figures their authors thought might be overestimates. | A 2014 survey fed a modelled direct cost to beekeeping of NZ$8.8 million a year — a model; the honey lost was not measured. Reduced entrances lower hive losses but also depress honey yield. | New Zealand |
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