Cuckoo Bee

Description:

Covered by furry hair in black and blue colours, head pail blue, as well as patches on the sides of the thorax and the legs. The abdomen is striped with bright blue and black, and the transparent wings are purple-brown in colour.

Habitat:

Spotted at Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, coastal area.

Notes:

Is a parasitic bee of the genus Thyreus, the specific epithet is derived from the diminutive of the Latin adjective nitidus "shining" (i.e. "a little shiny"). The female neon cuckoo bee seeks out the burrow nests of the blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata), and lays an egg into a partly completed brood cell while it is unguarded. The larval cuckoo bee then consumes the larder and later emerges from the cell.