| Neolarra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Neolarra pruinosa female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Subfamily: | Nomadinae |
| Tribe: | Neolarrini |
| Genus: | Neolarra Ashmead, 1890 |
Neolarra is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are about 16 described species in Neolarra, all from North America. [1] [2] [3] [4] These bees are smaller than a grain of rice and are kleptoparasites of Perdita bees.
Smaller than a grain of rice, these bees lay eggs in the nests of Perdita bees; the Neolarra egg hatches and the larva eats the egg and food store (of pollen [5] ) intended for a Perdita larva. It enters while the host bee is gone to avoid detection. [6]
It is likely that, in order to hide them from the returning Perdita bee, the eggs are inserted into the walls of brood cells (underground chambers). [5] In order to overpowers and kill the young Perdita egg or larva the Neolarra larva develops and uses a hard, sickle-shaped tooth. [5]
Neolarra was first described in 1890 by Ashmead, as a kind of wasp instead of a bee. [7] This was corrected by Baker in 1896. [7] The genus Phileremulus, created in 1895 when Neolarra was still considered to be a genus of wasp, was revised to be a subgenus of Neolarra by Charles Michener in 1939. [7]
These 16 species belong to the genus Neolarra:
Data sources: i = ITIS, [1] c = Catalogue of Life, [2] g = GBIF, [3] b = Bugguide.net [4]
Media related to Neolarra at Wikimedia Commons