The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the kleptoparasitic behaviour of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. The name is perhaps best applied to the apid subfamily Nomadinae, but is commonly used in Europe to mean bumblebees Bombus subgenus Psithyrus. Females of cuckoo bees are easy to recognize in almost all cases, as they lack pollen collecting structures and do not construct their own nests. They often have reduced body hair, abnormally thick and/or heavily sculptured exoskeleton, and saber-like mandibles, although this is not universally true; other less visible changes are also common.
With over 850 species, the genus Nomada is one of the largest genera in the family Apidae, and the largest genus of kleptoparasitic "cuckoo bees." Kleptoparasitic 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."
Corda is a settlement in the island of Santo Antão, Cape Verde. It is part of the municipality Ribeira Grande. It is situated in the mountainous interior of the island at about 1,000 meters elevation, 13 km north of the island capital Porto Novo. Corda consists of several villages, including Chã de Corda and Esponjeiro. The national road from Porto Novo to Ribeira Grande (EN1-SA01) passes through Corda. The crater of Cova lies 4 km to the southeast. Corda lies in the Cova-Paul-Ribeira da Torre Natural Park.
The wildlife of Cape Verde is spread over its archipelago of ten islands and three islets, which all have parks under their jurisdiction by decree promulgated by the Cape Verde government. Located off the west coast of Africa, the total land area of the island nation is 4,564 square kilometres (1,762 sq mi). The wildlife consists of many tropical dry forest and shrub land, endemic flora and fauna, and rare breeding seabirds and plants, which are unique to this group of islands.
Bombus vestalis, the vestal cuckoo bumblebee, is a species of cuckoo bumblebee that lives in most of Europe, as well as North Africa and western Asia. It is a brood parasite that takes over the nests of other bee species. Its primary host is Bombus terrestris. After its initial classification as Psithyrus vestalis, this bumblebee recently was reclassified into the genus Bombus, subgenus Psithyrus.
Bombus bohemicus, also known as the gypsy's cuckoo bumblebee, is a species of socially parasitic cuckoo bumblebee found in most of Europe with the exception of the southern Iberian Peninsula and Iceland. B. bohemicus practices inquilinism, or brood parasitism, of other bumblebee species. B. bohemicus is a generalist parasite, successfully invading several species from genus Bombus. The invading queen mimics the host nest's chemical signals, allowing her to assume a reproductively dominant role as well as manipulation of host worker fertility and behavior.
Bombus suckleyi is a species of bumblebee known commonly as Suckley's cuckoo bumblebee, named after biologist George Suckley. Suckley's bumble bee is a generalist pollinator and represents a rare group of obligate, parasitic bumble bees. Suckley's bumble bee is a social-parasite because it invades the nests of the host bumble bees, including the western bumble bee, and relies on host species workers to provision its larvae. It is native to northwestern North America, including Alaska and parts of western and central Canada and the western United States.
Thyreus is an Old World genus of bees, one of many that are commonly known as cuckoo bees, and are cleptoparasites of other species of bees, mostly in the genus Amegilla. They all have strongly contrasting patterns of coloration - three species from the Sydney region, Thyreus nitidulus, T. lugubris, and T. caeruleopunctatus are bright blue and black.
Thyreus nitidulus, commonly known as the neon cuckoo bee, is a parasitic bee of the genus Thyreus, called cuckoo bees. It is a stocky bee, notable for its brilliant metallic blue- and black-banded colors.
Dolichovespula adulterina is a species of parasitic social wasp found in the Palearctic region. D. adulterina feeds on a variety of foods, including insects, spiders, arthropods, meat, molluscs, fruit, nectar, and larval secretions. D. adulterina was formerly considered to be synonymous with D. arctica from the Holarctic region, but more recent research indicates that D. arctica is a separate species.
Vespula austriaca is an obligate parasitic wasp, parasitizing the nests of other species in the genus Vespula in the Old World. Its common host species include V. rufa in Europe, Japan, and East Siberia.V. austriaca wasps pollinate orchids.
Bombus flavifrons, the yellow-fronted bumble bee or yellowhead bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee. It is native to North America, where it is distributed across much of Canada, Alaska, and the western contiguous United States.
Sphecodopsis is a genus of cleptoparasitic "cuckoo" bees in the family Apidae. Endemic to southern Africa, the wasp-like bees of this genus are generally small, varying from 3.9 to 9 mm in length, and mostly black, with orange-ish or reddish colouring of the metasoma in some of the species. The bee genus Scrapter is recognised as a host for the cleptoparasitic life cycle of some Sphecodopsis, but further data regarding preferred hosts is not available for most of the species.
Megachile campanulae, known as the bellflower resin bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. Described in 1903, these solitary bees are native to eastern North America. Studies in 2013 placed them among the first insect species to use synthetic materials for making nests. They are considered mason bees, which is a common descriptor of bees in several families, including Megachilidae. Within the genus Megachile, frequently also referred to as leafcutter bees, M. campanulae is a member of the subgenus Chelostomoides, which do not construct nests from cut leaves, but rather from plant resins and other materials. Females lay eggs in nests constructed with individual cell compartments for each egg. Once hatched, the eggs progress through larval stages and subsequently will overwinter as pupae. The bees are susceptible to parasitism from several other bee species, which act as brood parasites. They are medium-sized bees and the female adults are typically larger than the males. They are important pollinators of numerous native plant species throughout their range.
Coelioxys sodalis is a bee from the family Megachilidae, one of numerous kleptoparasitic bees in the tribe Megachilini. Members of the genus Coelioxys exhibit kleptoparasitic behavior in that they lay their eggs in the nests of other bees, typically those of the related genus Megachile. As this behavior is similar to that of cuckoos, such bees are referred to as cuckoo bees. These host-parasite relationships are complex Host insects of the brood parasite C. sodalis include Megachile melanophaea, M. texana, and M. rotundata.
Coelioxys, common name leaf-cutting cuckoo bees or sharp-tailed bees , is a genus of solitary kleptoparasitic or brood parasitic bees, belonging to the family Megachilidae.
Chrysis ignita, also known as the ruby-tailed wasp, is a species of cuckoo wasps. Cuckoo wasps are kleptoparasites – they lay their eggs in the nests of other wasp species and their young consume the eggs or larva of the host wasp for sustenance. These wasps have a number of adaptions which have evolved to equip them for their life cycle. Chrysis ignita parasitize mason bees in particular. Ruby-tailed wasps have metallic, armored bodies, and can roll up into balls to protect themselves from harm when infiltrating the nests of host bees and wasps. Unlike most other Hymenopterans, cuckoo wasps cannot sting. Chrysis ignita is found across the European continent.
Thyreus lugubris, is a species of Australian native bee belonging to the family Apidae subfamily Apinae.
Lasioglossum leucozonium, also known as Lasioglossum similis, is a widespread solitary sweat bee found in North America, Europe, Asia, and parts of northern Africa. While now a common bee in North America, population genetic analysis has shown that it is actually an introduced species in this region. This population was most likely founded by a single female bee.
Bombus ignitus is a species of bumblebee in the family Apidae. It is mainly distributed in Eastern Asia, commonly found in China, Japan, and Korea. It is used in China and Japan commercially as a pollinator. B. ignitus is a eusocial insect with a queen that is monandrous - mating with only one male in the late summer before hibernating until the following spring. It builds its nest out of a mass of pollen and lays its eggs after completion. Due to numerous conflicts between queens and fertile workers, some surviving queens are badly injured, described by some as living corpses.
