General: Cuckoo Bees (Melecta spp.) are large bumblebee-sized insects that do not collect pollen. The lack of pollen-carrying structure on the hind legs helps identify these bees, as does the short body hair and the fact that hairs on the abdomen lie flat against the body. Cuckoo bees also have relatively thick antennae and unique wing-venation characteristics.

Look for these creatures on Mt. Charleston.

Taxonomy: Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies), Family Apidae (Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees), Subfamily Apinae (Honey, Bumble, and Digger Bees), Tribe Melectini (Cuckoo Bees), Genus Melecta.

Comments: Most bees collect pollen and feed it to their offspring, but cuckoo bees are brood parasites and lay their eggs in the nest of digger bees (Tribe Anthophorini), so they don't collect pollen.

Male cuckoo bees sometimes form sleeping aggregations where several males gather together, grasp a leaf with their mouth parts, and hang there sleeping all night.