Nomadinae is a subfamily of
bees 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 ...
. They are known commonly as cuckoo bees.
This subfamily is entirely
kleptoparasitic
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 f ...
. They occur worldwide, and use many different types of bees as hosts. As parasites, they lack a pollen-carrying
scopa
''Scopa'' (; literally "broom") is an Italian card game, and one of the three major national card games in Italy, the others being '' Briscola'' and ''Tresette''. It is also popular in Argentina and Brazil, brought in by Italian immigrants, most ...
, and are often extraordinarily
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
-like in appearance. All known species share the behavioral trait of females entering host nests when the host is absent, and inserting their eggs into the wall of the host cell; the
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
l parasite emerges later, after the cell has been closed by the host female, and kills the host larva. The first-
instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
larvae of nomadines are specially adapted for this, and possess long
mandible
In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...
s they use to kill the host larva, though these mandibles are lost as soon as the larva molts to the second instar, at which point it simply feeds on the pollen/nectar provisions. A behavioral habit shared by adults of various genera with males of many other bee species, who also do not possess a nest to return to, is that they frequently rest while grasping onto plant stems or leaves with only their mandibles.
Systematics
Tribes and genera include:
Nomadinae.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
*Tribe Hexepeolini
**''Hexepeolus
''Hexepeolus'' is a genus of cuckoo bees 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 ...
''
*Tribe Brachynomadini
**''Brachynomada
''Brachynomada'' is a genus of cuckoo bees 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 bumblebe ...
''
**'' Kelita''
**''Paranomada
''Paranomada'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are at least three described species in ''Paranomada''.
Species
These three species belong to the genus ''Paranomada'':
* ''Paranomada californica'' Linsley, 1945
* ''Paranoma ...
''
**''Trichonomada
''Trichonomada'' is a genus of cuckoo bees 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 bumblebe ...
''
**''Triopasites
''Triopasites'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are at least two described species in ''Triopasites''.
Species
These two species belong to the genus ''Triopasites'':
* ''Triopasites penniger'' (Cockerell, 1894)
* ''T ...
''
*Tribe Nomadini
With over 850 species, the genus ''Nomada'' is one of the largest genera in the family Apidae, and the largest genus of kleptoparasitic "cuckoo bees." Kleptoparasitic bees are so named because they enter the nests of a host and lay eggs there, st ...
**''Nomada
With over 850 species, the genus ''Nomada'' is one of the largest genera in the family Apidae, and the largest genus of kleptoparasitic "cuckoo bees." Kleptoparasitic bees are so named because they enter the nests of a host and lay eggs there, st ...
''
*Tribe Epeolini
**'' Doeringiella''
**''Epeolus
''Epeolus'' is a genus of cuckoo bees of the tribe Epeolini, the subfamily Nomadinae part of the honey bee family Apidae. They are often known as variegated cuckoo-bees.
Biology
The species within ''Epeolus'' are medium-sized bees with bright pa ...
''
**'' Odyneropsis''
**'' Pseudepeolus''
**'' Rhinepeolus''
**'' Rhogepeolus''
**'' Thalestria''
**'' Triepeolus''
*Tribe Ammobatoidini
**''Aethammobates
''Aethammobates'' is a monotypic genus of cuckoo bees belonging to 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 be ...
''
**''Ammobatoides
''Ammobatoides'' is a genus of cuckoo bees belonging to the family Apidae.
The species of this genus are found in Europe and Western Asia.
Species:
*''Ammobatoides abdominalis''
*''Ammobatoides braunsi''
*''Ammobatoides luctuosus''
*''Ammoba ...
''
**''Holcopasites
''Holcopasites'' is a genus of cuckoo bees 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 bumblebe ...
''
**''Schmiedeknechtia
''Schmiedeknechtia'' is a genus of cuckoo bees belonging to 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, incl ...
''
*Tribe Biastini
**'' Biastes''
**'' Neopasites''
**''Rhopalolemma
''Rhopalolemma'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are at least two described species in ''Rhopalolemma''.
Species
These two species belong to the genus ''Rhopalolemma'':
* ''Rhopalolemma robertsi'' Roig-Alsina, 1991
* ''Rhop ...
''
*Tribe Townsendiellini
''Townsendiella'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae, found in Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. It is the sole genus of the tribe Townsendiellini.
Species
* ''Townsendiella californica'' Michener, 1936
* ' ...
**''Townsendiella
''Townsendiella'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae, found in Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. It is the sole genus of the tribe Townsendiellini.
Species
* ''Townsendiella californica'' Michener, 1936
* ' ...
''
*Tribe Neolarrini
**''Neolarra
''Neolarra'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are about 16 described species in ''Neolarra'', all from North America.
Description
Smaller than a grain of rice, these bees lay eggs in the nests of '' Perdita'' bees; the ''Ne ...
''
*Tribe Ammobatini
**'' Ammobates''
**''Chiasmognathus
''Chiasmognathus'' is a genus of bees belonging to the family Apidae.
The species of this genus are found in Africa, Middle East, South Asia, and small range of Europe.
Species:
*''Chiasmognathus aegyptiacus''
*''Chiasmognathus aturksvenicus' ...
''
**'' Melanempis''
**'' Oreopasites''
**'' Parammobatodes''
**'' Pasites''
**'' Sphecodopsis''
**'' Spinopasites''
*Tribe Caenoprosopidini
**'' Caenoprosopina''
**'' Caenoprosopis''
Notes
References
* Michener, C. D. (2000). ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press.
Brood parasites
Bee subfamilies
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