Tag: cuckoo bee
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Calliopsis cuckoo nomad bee (Holcopasites calliopsidis)
Apidae > Holcopasites > Holcopasites calliopsidis The best way to find calliopsis-cuckoo nomad (Holcopasites calliopsidis) is to find a nesting aggregation of its panurgine host Calliopsis andreniformis. Even then, you will have to look carefully because this tiny, wasp-like bee is easily overlooked. With sharp eyes, look for a red, gnat-like insect hovering low over…
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Sphecodes
Sphecodes are a group of diverse and enigmatic cleptoparasites. Members of this genus are thought to predominately parasitize nests of other ground or wood-nesting halictids, mainly Lasioglossum, but also Halictus, Agapostemon, Augochlorella, and possibly Andrena and Calliopsis. Although genus-level identification of this genus is straightforward–a fairly wasp-like bee with a dark head and thorax, and…
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Painted dark bee (Stelis louisae)
Megachilidae > Stelis > Stelis louisae Louisiana painted-dark bee (S. louisae) is a colorful and distinctive member of an otherwise rare and poorly understood group of megachilid cuckoos. S. louisae is thought to predominately parasitize nests of megachilids that line their nests with tree resin: Megachile campanulae in New England and M. exilis in mid-Atlantic…
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Coelioxys dolichos
Megachilidae > Coelioxys > Coelioxys dolichos Coelioxys dolichos is a big, distinctive sharptail of the southern US. Oddly enough, this cuckoo bee looks a bit like its host Megachile xylocopoides—glossy dark all over with purplish wings held out at an angle. C. dolichos just creeps into the northeast region in Maryland and southern New Jersey,…
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Lunate longhorn-cuckoo bee (Triepeolus lunatus)
Apidae > Triepeolus > Triepeolus lunatus Lunate longhorn-cuckoo (Triepeolus lunatus) is a distinctive cuckoo bee of agricultural fields, gardens, and cities. It is active in summer, well-timed to co-occur with its presumed eucerine host Melissodes bimaculatus. T. lunatus has a preference for nectar from summer-blooming Asteraceae in the garden like black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia) and coneflowers…
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Squash longhorn-cuckoo bee (Triepeolus remigatus)
Apidae > Triepeolus > Triepeolus remigatus Squash longhorn-cuckoo (Triepeolus remigatus) is never far from its squash bee hosts Peponapis pruinosa and Xenoglossa strenua. This Triepeolus has a distinctive “anchor” pattern on its thorax, and has a preference for nectar from summer-blooming Asteraceae in the garden and agricultural fields; rarely, if ever, do they visit squash…
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Nomada
Nomada are red, black, and yellow wasp-like bees, most of which are cleptoparasites of mining bees Andrena. As cleptoparasites, Nomada are tied to their hosts, and so most species occur in spring when their Andrena hosts are also active. These colorful cuckoo bees are frequently seen in early spring when their Andrena mining bee hosts…
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Coelioxys
Coelioxys is a genus of cleptoparasites of Megachile, easily identified by the spines on the rear end of the thorax and the abdomen that tapers to a point (in females) or is tipped with spines (in males). Coelioxys females use their pointed abdomen to slit open the brood cells of their host so that they…
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Stelis
Stelis is a genus of megachilid cleptoparasites. They are stocky but elongate, evenly wide down the length of their bodies, and often with relatively sparse hairs. As cleptoparasites, females do not have pollen carrying hairs on their bodies. With the exception of one relatively widespread species, Stelis are generally not often encountered. Species covered: Species…