Osirini
Guides
Epeoloides
Macropis Cuckoo Bee
Epeoloides is a genus of kleptoparasitic (cuckoo) bees in the family Apidae, tribe Osirini. The genus comprises two known species: Epeoloides coecutiens (Fabricius, 1775) in Europe and Epeoloides pilosulus (Cresson, 1878) in North America. Both species are nest parasites of oil-collecting bees in the genus Macropis (Melittidae), which themselves are specialized pollinators of oil-producing flowers in the genus Lysimachia. This tripartite ecological dependency—between flower, host bee, and parasite—makes Epeoloides one of the rarest and most vulnerable bee genera in the Holarctic region.