Melecta albifrons

• Scientific name: Melecta albifrons
• Common name: common mourning bee
• Dimension: 12-14 mm
• Habitat: banks of sand and clay, cliffs and escarpments; also very common in urban areas, gardens and parks
• Behavior: cuckoo bees
• Nest: nests of other parasitic bees
• Parasitized species: 'Anthophora plumipes mainly but also parasitizes other species of Anthophora
• Red list of bees in Switzerland: not endangered

Interesting Facts:

Mourning bees are brood parasites: they penetrate the already sealed nesting cells of hairy bees, lay their own eggs and close them up again with a mixture of earth and body secretions. The cuckoo bee larva generally develops faster than that of the host, which is killed immediately after hatching.