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I have a pine tree growing next to the main door of my house. There is a hive of stinging insects (bees / wasps) nesting inside the pine needles, I am considering whether to leave them alone or to get rid of them using a wasp spray.

A family member has been stung once. Watering the tree with a garden hose ruffles the pine needles enough to set them off.

My location is in Malaysia (equatorial Asia), the insects are about 1.5cm to 2cm long, the hive is about eye level off the ground. The insects has 4 yellow stripes across its abdomen.

Identification on what species of bees / wasps and whether they are pests / helpful pollinators for my garden is appreciated. enter image description here

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Looks very dangerous, especially so close to your house door. I think they are black dwarf honey bees, or Apis andreniformis. They can attack in swarms, so my advice is to call professional pest control to remove it from the tree next to your house door.

Of course all insects have a role in nature (bees are known pollinators, but also wasps have a role in the ecosystem), however for your own safety I would consider it a pest because of the unfortunate location close to the entry of your home.

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  • Big firecracker on the end of a pole can destroy nests, after which they'll likely move elsewhere. RUN after it goes off. But with bee population declining world wide, it seems a shame to kill them all.
    – Wayfaring Stranger
    May 6, 2019 at 16:08
  • Looks like the identification was spot on. I will wait and see what happens, especially as I don't have kids.
    – Jason
    May 8, 2019 at 2:23

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