''Coelioxys'', common name leaf-cutting cuckoo bees or sharp-tailed bees, is a genus of solitary kleptoparasitic cuckoo bees belonging to the family

Megachilidae Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure (called a '' scopa'') to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclu ...

Diversity

The genus includes about 500 species in 15 subgenera.

Selected species

* '' Coelioxys angulatus'' * '' Coelioxys afer'' * '' Coelioxys apicatus'' * '' Coelioxys banksi'' * '' Coelioxys capitatus'' * '' Coelioxys confusus'' * '' Coelioxys coturnix'' * '' Coelioxys dolichos'' * '' Coelioxys elongatus'' * '' Coelioxys fenestratus'' * '' Coelioxys formosicola'' * '' Coelioxys fuscipennis'' * '' Coelioxys hunteri'' * ''

Coelioxys inermis ''Coelioxys inermis ''is a Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothil ...

'' * '' Coelioxys menthae'' * '' Coelioxys nitidoscutellaris'' * '' Coelioxys perseus'' * ''

Coelioxys polycentris ''Coelioxys polycentris'' is a species of Coelioxys, leaf-cutting cuckoo bee native to Europe and the Near East. Description Range From Portugal via southern central and northern southern Europe, southern Russia to Buryatia (evidence from ...

'' * ''

Coelioxys porterae ''Coelioxys porterae'' is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. References Further reading * External links * porterae Articles created by Qbugbot Insects described in 1900 {{Megachilidae-stub ...

'' * ''

Coelioxys rufitarsis ''Coelioxys rufitarsis'', common name red-legged cuckoo leafcutter bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It is native to North America.Mitchell, T.B. 1962Bees of the Eastern United States.North Carolina Agricultural Experiment St ...

'' * ''

Coelioxys sayi ''Coelioxys sayi'' is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. References Further reading * External links * sayi Articles created by Qbugbot Insects described in 1897 {{Megachilidae-stub ...

'' * ''

Coelioxys slossoni ''Coelioxys slossoni'' is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. Subspecies These two subspecies belong to the species ''Coelioxys slossoni'': * ''Coelioxys slossoni arenicola'' * ''Coelioxys slossoni slossoni'' References Further read ...

'' * ''

Coelioxys sodalis ''Coelioxys sodalis'' is a bee from the family Megachilidae, one of numerous kleptoparasitic bees in the tribe ''Megachilini''. Members of the genus ''Coelioxys'' exhibit kleptoparasitic behavior in that they lay their eggs in the nests of oth ...

'' Note that many adjectives need correcting to fit the masculine for gender agreement. The genus ending -oxys is from Latinized Greek and is masculine, despite any earlier usage of feminine adjectives.

Distribution

''Coelioxys'' species can be found in most European countries, in the

Afrotropical realm The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

, in the East

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, in the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

and

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

Description

Bees within this genus can reach a length of . They show a broad head with large complex eyes and broad thorax and abdomen. Their body is only moderately hairy. They are usually black with white hair stripes. Legs may be red or black. The females of ''Coelioxys'' species have a long pointed abdomen that resembles a cone, used to pierce the leaf lining in the laying of eggs. The male's abdomen is armed with spines or teeth. They are known to sometimes sleep upside down on vegetation. Schlafende Kegelbiene in der Dresdner Heide

Schlafende Kegelbiene in der Dresdner Heide

Biology

These cuckoo bees are usually active from June to September, depending on the specific host species. They have no pollen-carrying adaptations, as they do not need to provision nests. Adults feed on nectar at flowers of a wide range of different nectar plants. In fact they mainly lay their eggs in the nests of bees in the genus ''

Megachile The genus ''Megachile'' is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the resin bees and mortar bees. While other genera within the family Megachilidae may chew leaves or petals ...

'', but also in the nests of '' Osmia'' and '' Anthophora'', on their provisions of pollen. As this behavior is similar to that of

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

s, such bees are sometimes referred to as "cuckoo bees". These host-parasite relationships are quite complex. The larvae of ''Coelioxys'' species kill the host larvae with their strongly developed mandibles and feed on the host's pollen provisions. They spin a cocoon at 11–16 days. These species are usually

univoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

, but for some species a second generation is possible.

Gallery

File:Coelioxys rufescens.JPG, ''Coelioxys rufescens'' File:Female Coelioxys on Carlina curetum 1.JPG, ''Coelioxys acanthura'' File:Coelioxys inermis f.jpg, ''

'' File:Coelioxys sodalis, F, side, Maine, Hancock County 2013-03-15-14.19.27 ZS PMax (8593895542).jpg, ''

References

* Baker, J. R. 1975. Taxonomy of five nearctic subgenera of Coelioxys (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). University of Kansas Science Bulletin 50: 649–730.

External links

Wildbienen
Brood parasites Bee genera Articles containing video clips {{Megachilidae-stub