Common Wasp Bee Nomada ruficornis
Just like Bumble Bees suffer from the presence of Cuckoo Bumble Bees, many other bees know such parasites as well. Mining Bees suffer from Wasp Bees. These bees resemble wasps very much, have the striking yellow yellow and black stripes, but they are actually bees. They deposit their eggs in the nest of a mining bee and when their larvae grow up they kill the mining bee's larvae in the process. The species below is parasitic on the Early Mining Bee. On flowers the males are often seen, the females seldom. They are often seen flying low, looking for the holes of nesting mining bees. Compared to the females the males are considerably smaller and much hairier. Even though we think the bees in the pictures are Common Wasp Bees, we are not absolutely sure. Wasp Bees, especially the males, are very hard to identify both in the field and from pictures.
