April 2010 Melecta albifrons is a cuckoo bee that lays its eggs in the nest of the Spring or Hairy-footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes. Its larva then eat the pollen gathered by the Flower Bee and intended for its own larva so that, the following year, it is a Melecta albifrons that emerges and not a Flower Bee.
The female is black with white patches on the sides of the abdomen and on the legs. The male is similar but tends to have more white hairs on the head and thorax.
There is a page on the Essex Field Club site.
| Previous Page | Back to Index | Next Page |