Sweat bees, on the other hand, make their own nests. Since they simply place their eggs in other wasps’ nests, they don’t need to make a nest of their own. NestingĪs we mentioned earlier, cuckoo wasps are kleptoparasites. Females have completely black abdomens with white hairs on them. The abdomen of the males of this species is the more traditional striped yellow and black. For example, the Agapostemon, a type of metallic green sweat bee, only has the head and thorax in this color. Not all sweat bees are completely metallic in color. In this aspect, they are just like any other bee. They have hair brushes on their hind legs called scopae, which help keep the pollen in place as they make their journey. They do not carry around pollen with them after having a drink on a flower.įemale sweat bees carry pollen back to their nests. Perhaps trying to show off their beautiful, well-oiled skin? Pollen collectionĬuckoo wasps may be nectar drinkers, but they are no pollinators. Both will stop at flowers or branches and go about their business, but male sweat bees also keep a lookout for the ladies during this time. Preeningīoth types of insects preen, but the sweat bees tend to take longer to do so. Their movements in the air and on and around the flower are quite poised. They would sit on one flower, suck the nectar, then alight slowly, flying to the next one, and then sit there again for some time. Sweat bees fly in a more slow and steady fashion, like a traditionalist. They would dart around in mid-air and alight and fly about in quick movements. Plants that have aphid infestations will often see both these insects buzzing around them in the hopes of getting a taste of the sugary substance.Ĭuckoo wasps, like most other wasps, have a jerky, erratic way of flying. The first key difference between the two is that cuckoo wasps are not particularly fond of sitting on flowers.Įven though both cuckoo wasps and sweat bees take nectar as their food, you will probably not find the cuckoo wasp around flowers as much as their lookalike bees.īoth wasp and bee have one thing in common, though – they both love honeydew. However, there are some interesting differences in their nesting behaviors, the way they move, and their appearances. One interesting fact about them is that their name, “sweat bees,” comes from the fact they are drawn toward human sweat!ĭue to their similar metallic colors, they are often difficult to distinguish from each other. In most cases, females are larger than males. These bees have short tongues, and they have a curved basal vein near their wings. Some have green hues, others red, and a few blue and even purple! One thing commonly found in most of them is yellow-colored markings. Most of them are between a quarter to three-quarters of an inch in length Their sizes and the patterns on their back vary from species to species. They can be metallic colored (most often), but they can also be black or brown. Halictidae are abundant in nature, and you can find these bees flitting around gardens and yards all over the world. Many of them can look very different from each other. There are over 4,500 species of these bees. Sweat bees are part of a family of bees known as Halictidae. These insects have evolved amazing defense mechanisms to aid their dangerous lifestyle, such as mimicking the smell of their hosts and curling up in a ball with their powerful exoskeleton to protect them. Their beautiful shimmering metallic colors often enchant humans who notice them.Ĭuckoo wasps are often found in deserts because the host bees and wasps they like to steal from also live in these areas. Unfortunately, the devil wears Prada, and so do these bugs. All in all, these wasps are the devil incarnate. Later, when the larvae of the host wasp hatch, they feed on those too. These eggs hatch before the host wasps own do, and they feed off the food that the host wasp has left for her larvae. That’s a fancy way of saying they don’t just eat their prey they steal from them too!Ĭuckoo wasps often lay their eggs inside the nests of other wasps (hopefully when the other female is gone away). To those unanointed with scientific terms, kleptoparasitic means they are parasites by stealing. More than 3,000 species of these wasps are described.Ĭuckoo wasps are kleptoparasitic wasps. Cuckoo Wasps are from the Chrysididae family of hymenopterans.
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