nomad bees

(Nomada spp.)

Overview
nomad bee (Nomada sp.)
Photo by Babette Kis
 

Nomada is a very large genus of cuckoo bees. There are more than 850 Nomada species worldwide, more than 280 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 18 species in Minnesota.

Like other cuckoo bees, nomad bees do not construct nests. They lay their eggs in the nests of ground-nesting bees (kleptoparasitic) usually in the genus Andrena. Each species of nomad bee lays its eggs in the nests of only one other species of bee. One to four eggs are laid in the cell wall of the host nest. The larvae have large, outward-facing, scissor-like mandibles. The first larva to emerge destroys all the other eggs, both those of the host and those of its own siblings. It consumes the pollen provisioned by its host, and emerges as an adult the same time as the host adults emerge.

 
             
 
Description
 
 

Nomad bees look more like wasps than a bees. Adults are 5 16 to (8 to 10 mm) in length. They are usually black, black and red, or entirely red, with yellow, white, and/or red markings. The genus Nomada includes the only bees in North America that are entirely red. They have short, thin, and inconspicuous hairs on the body and no pollen-collecting hairs (scopa) on the hind legs. Many species have red legs. The compound eye is not centered over the mandible but is shifted slightly back. The wings are transparent and smoky. There usually are three submarginal cells, the first (innermost) as long as the second and third combined, the third (outermost) relatively short. The marginal cell is sharply pointed and ends on the outer wing margin. The lobe at the base of the hindwing (jugal lobe) is very small, shorter than the submedian cell, and rounded.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82.

 
  10/7/2022      
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)  
 

Suborder

Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)  
 

Infraorder

Aculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps)  
 

Superfamily

Apoidea (bees and apoid wasps)  
 

Family

Apidae (honey bees, bumble bees, and allies)  
 

Subfamily

Nomadinae (nomad and related cuckoo bees)  
 

Tribe

Nomadini (nomad bees)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

articulated nomad bee (Nomada articulata)

Bank’s nomad bee (Nomada banksi)

black-and-yellow nomad (Nomada luteoloides)

Cresson’s nomad bee (Nomada cressonii)

cuneate nomad bee (Nomada cuneata)

denticulate cuckoo nomad bee (Nomada denticulata)

depressed cuckoo nomad bee(Nomada depressa)

Graenicher’s cuckoo nomad bee (Nomada graenicheri)

Illinois cuckoo nomad bee (Nomada illinoensis)

imbricate cuckoo nomad bee (Nomada imbricata)

neighborly nomad (Nomada vicina)

obliterated nomad (Nomada obliterata)

ovate cuckoo nomad bee (Nomada ovata)

pygmy nomad bee (Nomada pygmaea)

ruddy nomad bee (Nomada rubicunda)

Say’s cuckoo nomad bee (Nomada sayi)

spotted nomad bee (Nomada maculata)

superb nomada (Nomada superba)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

nomad bee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Jugal lobe

In Hymenoptera: The rear lobe at the base of the hindwing.

 

Scopa

A brush-like tuft of hairs on the legs or underside of the abdomen of a bee used to collect pollen.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Babette Kis

 
    nomad bee (Nomada sp.)   nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
 

Alfredo Colon

 
    nomad bee (Nomada sp.)   nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
           
    nomad bee (Nomada sp.)   nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
           
    nomad bee (Nomada sp.)   nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
           
    nomad bee (Nomada sp.)   nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
           
    nomad bee (Nomada sp.)   nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Nomadas
Jesus Tizon
 
  Nomadas  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  Nomad Bee (A Bee That Looks Like A Wasp)
Rob Mellowship
 
   
 
About

Published on Apr 29, 2017

Nomad Bee (A Bee That Looks Like A Wasp) that is quite harmless to us. It is what is called a cleptoparasite in that it lays it's eggs in other Bee's nests and sometimes takes some of the pupae in that nest to eat.

 
  Nomada cuckoo bee?
winterwren3
 
   
 
About

Published on Jul 19, 2017

This might be a Nomada bee, which is a cleptoparasite on andrena and other species of ground-nesting bees

 
  Female cuckoo bee Nomada lathburiana trying to enter a nest of a digging bee, Andrena vaga
Maico Weites
 
   
 
About

Published on Nov 6, 2016

https://waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/75538370

 
  Nomada lathburiana stealing nest of solitary bee
Marta Rubio Texeira
 
   
 
About

Published on Mar 29, 2014

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Babette Kis
5/19/2021

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
  Alfredo Colon
7/31/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
  Alfredo Colon
7/9/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
  Alfredo Colon
6/10/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
  Alfredo Colon
6/8/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

nomad bee (Nomada sp.)  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.