This is an insect which has been eluding me for at least a year, since I first saw a very bright blue insect (wasp? fly? bee?) flying around my lawn. I have only seen them occasionally since then – perhaps half a dozen times altogether – and they always vanished too fast to identify. All I was sure of, until this one was good enough to permit a photo, was that they were about the size of a honey bee.
As the common name says, it is a bee – a native Australian bee, in fact – and ‘Neon’ obviously comes from its colour, but what about ‘Cuckoo’?
Well, it lays eggs in another species’ nest, just as real cuckoos do. To quote Wikipedia, “The female neon cuckoo bee seeks out the burrow nests of the blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata), and lays an egg into a partly completed brood cell while it is unguarded. The larval cuckoo bee then consumes the larder and later emerges from the cell.” Its victim, the Blue-banded Bee, is a common sight in my garden and a photo appeared in this recent post.
The Cuckoo Wasp I wrote about in March uses the same reproductive strategy (see the Brisbane Insects page about them for more information). I wonder if any other kinds of animal do?
Just captured one of these with my camera this morning. Googled … and found your blog post. Thanks so much for helping me with an I.D. Your photo is simply magnificent.
Glad to help, Bernie :-)
I just had a quick look at your blog – http://bushbernie.blogspot.com.au/
It looks good (and I will be back) but it left me wondering where in NQ you are – Townsville? Inland? I think it would be helpful to your visitors if you gave them/us at least a rough idea without having to search too hard for it.
Yes Malcolm, I’m in Townsville. My Google+ profile shows that. Apart from the weather gadgets showing Townsville, I haven’t actually added that detail to my blog.
Hi Guys, I am in Bluewater and currently have a basil plant heavily in flower. It is alive with Cuckoo Bees, however I had no idea what it was. I stumbled over this site and now have a name for these beautiful insects. Thanks. Greg.
Hi, Greg,
The native bees do like basil flowers! I have got photos of the Neon Cuckoo Bee feeding on it, and at least three other species.
You probably have Blue-banded Bees as well as the bright neon ones – see http://malcolmtattersall.com.au/wp/2013/01/bee-heaven/ for photos of both and an explanation of the relationship.
Cheers,
Malcolm