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Cuckoo bee

Nomada ruficornis species group

Description:

Nomada Cuckoo bees resemble wasps more than bees. They are cleptoparasites of bees, primarily Andrena, but also Agapostemon and Eucera. Once the host leaves the nest, the cuckoo bee will enter the nest and lay its eggs into the provisioned cells. Once the larva hatches, it will consume the host's provisioned pollen & will kill and eat the host's larva.

Habitat:

Worldwide. In areas of other nesting bees. Adults nectar on flowers.

Notes:

These cuckoo bees have been patrolling the garden ground for days now. I finally got an opportunity to witness one taking over an Andrena nest. She sat for a long time, very patiently, waiting for the Andrena bee to exit her nest. (image 2 & 3). For an intermission, this slug came over to check things out (image 4). Once the Andrena bee exited, the cuckoo bee immediately flew into the nest and was there for about 5 minutes laying her eggs. (image 5 & 6... these photos are not very clear, she was in & out of the entrance very quickly).

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13 Comments

Small Wonders
Small Wonders 11 years ago

Thank you Bud, Mayra & Kuheli!

KuheliBD
KuheliBD 11 years ago

superb

MayraSpringmann
MayraSpringmann 11 years ago

Great macro!

BudShinall
BudShinall 11 years ago

What can I say, Just a perfect spotting.

Small Wonders
Small Wonders 11 years ago

Thanks so much everyone for the nice comments!

williefromwi
williefromwi 11 years ago

great series and great captures, great notes. Fantastic

NeilDazet
NeilDazet 11 years ago

Great series of photos and notes! Glad to be following you now!

Gerardo Aizpuru
Gerardo Aizpuru 11 years ago

Very nice wonderful series!

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Fascinating!

Small Wonders
Small Wonders 11 years ago

Thanks asergio!

Sergio Monteiro
Sergio Monteiro 11 years ago

What a great spotting!

Small Wonders
Small Wonders 11 years ago

Thanks Cindy! This was so interesting to watch - The cruel reality of nature...

CindyBinghamKeiser
CindyBinghamKeiser 11 years ago

Awesome series! I love the detail on the bees pics of the nest.

Small Wonders
Spotted by
Small Wonders

Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Spotted on May 15, 2012
Submitted on May 16, 2012

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