Cone-waisted cuckoo bee - Coelioxys froggatti

Description:

A welcome visitor to our garden this week. This one is a male. It has a number of sharp points at the the end of its abdomen. Females have a tapered pointed end to their abdomen. "Coelioxys bees are cuckoo bees (or 'cleptoparasites') which lay their eggs inside the nests of other types of bees in a similar way as cuckoo birds lay eggs in the nests of other types of birds. ...The eggs hatch into Coelioxys larvae which kill the leafcutter bee young and also eat the food stored for them." www.aussiebee.com.au/coelioxys-bee-dec2011.htmlPhoto: Fred