page_title: Nomadinae
hierarchical_section_title: Nomadinae
caption_attribution_description: English: Sphecodopsis sp., photographed at Sandveld Nature Reserve, South Africa.
context_page_description: Nomadinae is a subfamily of bees in the family Apidae. They are known commonly as cuckoo bees.
  This subfamily is entirely kleptoparasitic. They occur worldwide, and use many different types of bees as hosts. As parasites, they lack a pollen-carrying scopa, and are often extraordinarily wasp-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 larval parasite emerges later, after the cell has been closed by the host female, and kills the host larva. The first-instar larvae of nomadines are specially adapted for this, and possess long mandibles 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. Another unusual behavioral habit seen in adults of various genera is they frequently "sleep" while grasping onto plant stems or leaves with only their mandibles.
context_section_description: Nomadinae is a subfamily of bees in the family Apidae. They are known commonly as cuckoo bees.
  This subfamily is entirely kleptoparasitic. They occur worldwide, and use many different types of bees as hosts. As parasites, they lack a pollen-carrying scopa, and are often extraordinarily wasp-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 larval parasite emerges later, after the cell has been closed by the host female, and kills the host larva. The first-instar larvae of nomadines are specially adapted for this, and possess long mandibles 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. Another unusual behavioral habit seen in adults of various genera is  they frequently "sleep" while grasping onto plant stems or leaves with only their mandibles.
caption: Sphecodopsis sp. in South Africa
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3462", "Image ImageLength": "2549", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 500D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS6 (13.0 20120305.m.415 2012/03/05:21:00:00)  (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2013:02:09 13:09:30", "Image Artist": "Julie Anne Workman", "Image ExifOffset": "352", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "982", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6169", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:09:04 13:16:53", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:09:04 13:16:53", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1040241/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "60", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "24", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "24", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3126", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2302", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "792000/149", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3168000/593", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "2350744536", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[60, 60, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S60mm f/2.8 Macro USM"}