Cuckoo wasp - the bane of bees.

A metallic-green adult cuckoo wasp just finished taking nectar from the flower.

Cuckoos, the bird species, are brood parasites whereby the female lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species.  The cuckoo chicks are usually larger than their fostering family and often destroy their adoptive brothers and sisters directly (by pushing them out of the nest) or indirectly (by out-competing them for food).  The cuckoo wasp has a somewhat similar pattern of behaviour.

Many species of Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) care for their young by producing an enclosed nest where the larvae can grow and mature.  The female cuckoo wasp, much smaller than their larger cousins, will find an opportunity to lay an egg in the brooding chamber of a compatible species.  There, the egg hatches, often after the host larva does, and consumes it.  Afterwards, the larder, being still somewhat full, becomes the next source of sustenance.  

Now, the sole inhabitant of the brood chamber, the larval wasp matures to its final stage and pupates to eventually become an adult.  The young wasp then exits the enclosure and feeds on flower nectar until it can find a mate and begin the cycle anew.

The cuckoo wasp parasitizes the nests of many Hymenoptera species; commonly solitary insects such as mason bees are selected.  The tiny wasp is generally not considered economically important as their numbers remain relatively small.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com