This small Nomada bee is about 3/8 inch long. The head, eyes, thorax, abdomen and legs are red. The wings are smoky brown. The antennae are brown. This bee was identified by volunteer experts at the BugGuide website.
The frequency of occurrence for Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods is not known. The individual shown here was photographed in Fontenelle Forest in early June, 2012.
Members of this genus are cleptoparasites of other bees. The female enters a host nest when the host is absent and lays eggs on the cell wall. The larvae of the Nomada bee eat the nectar and pollen stores of their hosts resulting in starvation of the host larvae. Nomada bees are in the subfamily Nomadinae. Members of this subfamily are usually wasp-like in appearance and lack a pollen carrying “basket.”
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.