Cuckoo bees

Definition

Bees that practice brood parasitism by laying eggs in the nests of other bee species, relying on host workers to provision and rear their offspring. Females typically lack pollen-collecting scopae, do not construct nests, and often exhibit morphological adaptations including reduced body hair, thickened or sculptured exoskeletons, and modified mandibles. The term applies most precisely to the apid subfamily Nomadinae but is also used regionally for socially parasitic bumblebees (Bombus subgenus Psithyrus).

Etymology

From the brood-parasitic behavior of cuckoo birds (Cuculidae), which lay eggs in the nests of other birds.

Example

The nomadine bee Nomada ruficornis enters nests of Andrena mining bees to deposit eggs; the resulting larvae consume the host's pollen stores and sometimes destroy the host's own brood.

Synonyms

• kleptoparasitic bees
• brood-parasitic bees

Related Terms

• kleptoparasitism
• social parasitism
• Nomadinae
• Psithyrus
• scopa
• mining bees
• cleptoparasite

Usage Notes

Distinguish between solitary kleptoparasites (Nomadinae, Epeolini, Thyreini) and social parasites like Psithyrus cuckoo bumblebees, which invade colonies of social Bombus. Not all bees lacking pollen-carrying structures are cuckoos—some males or cleptoparasitic wasps show convergent traits. The term is descriptive of behavior, not a formal taxonomic group.