| Sometimes
known more commonly as Cuckoo Bees, these are social
parasites - a term derived through their habit of taking
food meant for the larvae of their host species. Nomada rufipes
is a
cleptoparasite on some solitary bees. In N. rufipes
case, it's mostly the heather flower specialist Andrena
fuscipes. This one was photographed at Budby Common
on 30/08/07, where it was found gripping a Festuca grass
leaf with it's jaws. Most members are considerably
wasp-like, having black/yellow or brown/yellow banding on
a hairless abdomen. They are harmless to humans and do
not sting. Identification of individual Nomada species
can be very difficult. |
