Speculators and hedgers are different terms that describe traders and investors. Speculation involves attempting to profit from a change in the price of a security, while hedging efforts to reduce the amount of risk, or volatility, are related to changes in the price of a security.
Hedging involves taking an offsetting position in a derivative to balance the gains and losses on the underlying asset. Hedging tries to eliminate the volatility associated with asset prices by taking offsetting positions as opposed to what investors currently have. The main purpose of speculation, on the other hand, is to profit from a position in the direction in which the asset will move.