Solitary-bee-parasitoid
Guides
Meloe angusticollis
short-winged blister beetle, oil beetle
Meloe angusticollis is a North American blister beetle known for its short elytra that leave most of the abdomen exposed. Adults release cantharidin-laden hemolymph as a chemical defense, which causes skin blistering in humans. The species exhibits hypermetamorphosis, with mobile first-instar larvae (triungulins) that parasitize solitary bees by hitchhiking to nest sites. Females are notably larger than males, reaching up to 19 mm.
Sphecodes heraclei heraclei
Northern Cyclops Blood Bee
Sphecodes heraclei heraclei is a subspecies of blood bee in the family Halictidae. As a member of the genus Sphecodes, it is a cleptoparasite (cuckoo bee) that exploits the nests of other solitary bees, particularly sweat bees in the family Halictidae. The subspecies was described by Robertson in 1897. Like other Sphecodes, females enter host nests to lay eggs in brood cells, with their larvae consuming the host's pollen provisions and parasitizing the host larvae.