[header] How to identify honey bees [title] Identify the body shape of the insect. [step] The easiest way to differentiate a honey bee from other types of bees or wasps is to look at the shape of their thorax and abdomen. Honey bees have a distinctive barrel-shaped body and don't have a thin middle section between the thorax and abdomen like other insects. 
[substeps] Wasps tend to have a very thin middle section and distinct thorax and abdomen. Honey bees have a thorax and abdomen that look like one complete piece.