The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with eleven extant families that include about 600 described species. They are endoparasites of other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. Females of most species never emerge from the host after entering its body, finally dying inside it. The early-stage larvae do emerge because they must find an unoccupied living host, and the short-lived males must emerge to seek a receptive female in her host. They are believed to be most closely related to beetles, from which they diverged 300–350 million years ago, but do not appear in the fossil record until the mid-Cretaceous around 100 million years ago.
Megachile rotundata, the alfalfa leafcutting bee, is a European bee that has been introduced to various regions around the world. As a solitary bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfalfa, carrots, other vegetables, and some fruits. Because of this, farmers often use M. rotundata as a pollination aid by distributing M. rotundata prepupae around their crops. Each female constructs and provisions her own nest, which is built in old trees or log tunnels. Being a leafcutter bee, these nests are lined with cut leaves. These bees feed on pollen and nectar and display sexual dimorphism. This species has been known to bite and sting, but it poses no overall danger unless it is threatened or harmed, and its sting has been described as half as painful as a honey bee's.
With over 850 species, the genus Nomada is one of the largest genera in the family Apidae, and the largest genus of cuckoo bees. Cuckoo bees are so named because they enter the nests of a host and lay eggs there, stealing resources that the host has already collected. The name "Nomada" is derived from the Greek word nomas, meaning "roaming" or "wandering."
Andrena is a genus of bees in the family Andrenidae. With over 1,500 species, it is one of the largest genera of animals. It is a strongly monophyletic group that is difficult to split into more manageable divisions; currently, Andrena is organized into 104 subgenera. It is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. Bees in this genus are commonly known as mining bees due to their ground-nesting lifestyle.
Xenos vesparum is a parasitic insect species of the order Strepsiptera that are endoparasites of paper wasps in the genus Polistes that was first described in 1793. Like other members of this family, X. vesparum displays a peculiar lifestyle, and demonstrates extensive sexual dimorphism.
Andrena salicifloris, or the willow flower miner bee, is a miner bee in the genus Andrena. Another common name for this species is the willow mining bee. The bee ranges from Colorado to California and north to British Columbia, and often inhabits arid and alpine lands. The bee is often black or dark brown, and is sparsely coated with grayish hair on the thorax, legs and on the abdomen. The pollen basket is on most of the hind leg. The wings of the willow flower miner bee are smokey, and their veins are black.
Amegilla cingulata is a species of blue-banded bee native to Australia. Currently, several scientific organizations are conducting research on how A. cingulata benefits agriculture through its distinctive "buzz pollination".
The alkali bee, Nomia melanderi, is a ground-nesting bee native to deserts and semi-arid desert basins of the western United States. It was described by Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell in 1906. While solitary, these bees nest near each other and can form extremely dense aggregations in areas with favorable conditions.
Andrena agilissima is a species of mining bee. They are present in most of Europe, the Near East and North Africa and can be found from April through July. Andrena agilissima is an oligolectic species, feeding only on the pollen of a few genera of Cruciferous vegetables.
Andrena hattorfiana is a species of mining bees belonging to the family Andrenidae subfamily Andreninae.
Stylops melittae is a species of the order Strepsiptera of flying insects, that parasitize various species of sand bees (Andrena).
Macropis nuda is a ground nesting, univoltine bee native to northern parts of North America. Thus, this species cocoons as pupae and hibernates over the winter. The species is unusual as it is an oligolectic bee, foraging exclusively for floral oils and pollen from Primulaceae of the species Lysimachia ciliata.
Andrena trimmerana, Trimmer's mining bee, is a species of mining bee from the family Andrenidae. It occurs in the western Palearctic but its true status in some areas is muddled due to issues of taxonomy and misidentification.
Nomada marshamella, Marsham's nomad bee, is a species of Palearctic cuckoo bee which appears to be a wasp mimic and which is cleptoparasite on the mining bees of the genus Andrena, especially A. scotica and A. trimmerana.
Andrena vaga, the grey-backed mining bee, is a species of solitary bee which is found in most of Europe but which is very rare in Great Britain, where it may be recolonizing in the south-east after previously being extirpated. It specialises in feeding on the pollen of willows.
Andrena barbilabris, the bearded miner bee, is a species of miner bee in the family Andrenidae. It is found in Europe and Northern Asia and North America.
The Clark's miner bee is a species of miner bee in the family Andrenidae. Other common names include Clark's andrena and Clarke's mining bee. It is found in Europe and Northern Asia and North America.
Colletes cunicularius, the vernal colletes or spring mining bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Colletidae which is widespread in the Palearctic from Britain to the Pacific Ocean which nests in areas of open, sandy soil.
The tormentil mining bee is a species of mining bee from the family Andrenidae which has a Palearctic distribution.
Halictoxenos borealis is a species of the order Strepsiptera of flying insects, that parasitize sweat bees (Lasioglossum).
