Cuckoo bee

Description:

The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the habit of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. When the cuckoo bee larva hatches it consumes the host larva's pollen ball, and, if the female cleptoparasite has not already done so, kills and eats the host larva. They often have reduced body hair, abnormally thick and/or heavily sculptured exoskeleton, and saber-like mandibles, though this is not universally true, and other less visible changes are common, as well.

Habitat:

Garden