This little Cuckoo Bee is approximately .50 inch in length. It is mostly brownish-red with yellow spots on the abdomen. The antennae are long and reddish-brown. The bees in the subfamily Nomandinae resemble small wasps and lack a pollen transporting “basket.”
This little Cuckoo Bee is approximately .50 inch in length. It is mostly brownish-red with yellow spots on the abdomen. The antennae are long and reddish-brown. The bees in the subfamily Nomandinae resemble small wasps and lack a pollen transporting “basket.”
The genus Nomada is currently divided into “species groups” rather than subgenera. The members of this genus are cleptoparasites of other bees, primarily Andrena and Halictid bees. The female enters a host nest when the host is absent and deposits eggs in the wall of the cell. The larvae of the cleptoparasite eat the pollen and nectar stores of their hosts, resulting in starvation of the host larvae.
The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Babs Padelford.