Nomada Marshamella (Kirby, 1802) Marsham’s Nomad Bee.
Family: Apidae,
Length: 10 to 13mm (Male and female are similar in size)
Flight Season: April to June and July to early September a second generation (in some southern parts of the country).
Nomad bees are parasitic, their larva feeding on the Andrea species of bee and have a wasp like appearance. A widespread and common Nomad bee found over much of the United Kingdom. Their range also extends to Turkey in the East and Finland in the far north of Europe.
In the early part of the season, they will be seen mainly flying close to the ground, searching for a host’s nest. When a host’s nest site is found and by following similar traits to a cuckoo bee, the female will deposit her eggs in the nest, doing this while the host female bee is absent. (The host female bee is probably collecting, pollen and nectar for her own larva). The Nomada bee larva will eventually kill the host’s eggs and larva, then until pupation they will continue to feed on the pollen and nectar intended for the host’s own young.
Habitat: In a wide variety of habitats, wherever their host bees Andrea scotica and Andrea trimmerana are found; low overgrown vegetation, woodland, along woodland edges, heathland, coastal sites and commonly found in urbanised places such as gardens and parks.
A wide range of most flowering shrubs and herbs are visited through-out the flight season.
This is a cleptoparasitic bee, so pollen is not collected.
Nomad Bees are also considered poor pollinators, as they are mostly hairless and they lack a pollen-carrying scopa (a tuft of hairs where the pollen collects on the leg of a bee).
The name “Nomada” comes from the Greek word “Nomas”; meaning “wandering” or “roaming”.
Below are images of the female.