''Leiopodus singularis'' is a species of bee in the family
Apidae
Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebees and honey bees, but also includes stingless bees (also used for ...
.
[ It is found in Central America and North America.][
]
Biology
This species is a kleptoparasite
Kleptoparasitism (etymologically, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct feeding, which can mean when fo ...
of '' Diadasia olivacea''. They will perch alert outside the host nest and wait for the host to leave before entering for short visits of 20 seconds to inspect the nest, then on the last visit disappearing for 2 minutes to lay their own egg inside. Their eggs have a long incubation period compared to the host. Their first instar young does not feed, but dispatches the much larger host larva, and then molts to a second instar, and consumes the host's pollen provisions.
References
Further reading
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External links
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Apinae
Articles created by Qbugbot
Insects described in 1937
{{Apinae-stub