I took a photograph of this bee, put it into iNaturalist, and it said that it was a nomad bee. This bee was so chill that it let me photograph it and check it out up close. So, my first thought was to play with around with the name and call this bee a “no mad” bee. Its motto is “bee happy.”
The genus name Nomada means roaming or wandering. They wander the landscape in search of host nests of solitary bees like mining bees where they will deposit their eggs. When the nomad bee egg hatches, it will kill the host offspring and eat the provisions of pollen and nectar gathered by the host bee for its offspring. Nomad bees are kleptoparasites. Klepto means to steal and parasite means to live at another’s expense.
Since they don’t build their own nests, they don’t gather pollen. So they lack the specialized hairs on their legs or underneath their abdomen known as a scopa for carrying pollen. In the photo, you can see that some pollen has incidentally collected on the front of its head as it foraged for nectar on the flowers of Oregon sunshine.
I found these bees in the wildflower garden in front of the pavilion. I also wandered around looking for where they might be laying their eggs and was unable to locate their host bee nests. I’ll keep looking and let you know when I find one.
I hope that everyone has been enjoying spring. Sorry I haven’t posted much lately. I have been a super busy bee myself. Looking forward to some lazy days of summer right around the corner. I look forward to seeing you out there.
