BEE....WHO..??

Bee with FLY behavior..?? Walking thru the garden, I heard a buzzing of what I thought was FLIES... perhaps around a dead mouse, or chipmunk. There was no actual SWARM..it was, in fact, perhaps a dozen of these guys, all within a relatively small area... maybe 2-3 sq.metres... they appeared to be fighting among themselves... an individual bee would appear to be defending his own small territory, when another would come in & attack, this was an ongoing scenario among many individuals... all within this small area... it was like a BARFIGHT..!!... the sound & behavior seemed more typical of a FLY, than a bee...??... quick, short flights, near the ground. Maybe 2 rival colonies fighting over a territory..?? Species ID, & comment on this behavior would be appreciated.

This might be a cuckoo bee - Hymenoptera: Apidae; subfamily Nomadinae - see http://tinyurl.com/nfz8ps for some examples and http://tinyurl.com/les4zx for more information on these bees. I have no explanation for the group behavior that you observed.

suunto,,, thankx for your input. I apologize, I forgot to mention the SIZE= 15+ mm; quite large for a Halictid... ??.. I guess I'm outdated; Nomadinae is a new subfamily addition to Halictidae; which I always considered as "cuckoo bees"..?? Yes, weird behavior... these guys would actually knock each other to the ground, & literally 'roll in the dirt' fighting..!!... I'm gonna check again today, & see if they are back in the same area. Some of Tom Murray's photos look very close....

Triepeolus lunatus
http://k43.pbase.com/o6/94/339594/1/82820275.8kzxTBBO.IMG_3647.JPG

It's beginning to make sense... the mating behavior of nomiine bees is typical of my observations... the garden area which they seem to have interest is mostly bare dirt, & nomiine bees are ground dwellers...even the low-pitched [fly-like] buzzing is part of their mating ritual. Here's a most interesting article on mating of nomiine bees... I recommend starting at pg. 10:

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:wftd7P1GRCsJ:striweb.si.edu/publications/PDFs/Wcislo-Buchmann%25201995%2520JNH-29.pdf

thankx again for the help

It is probably a cuckoo bee after looking at its wing veination [triangular discoid cell]and because its back leg does not have a pollen sac. "They do not construct a nest but lay their eggs in the nests of other bees" The Field Guide To Insects OF North America, by Borror and White, page 358. Your wonderful picture was a big help with it'sexcellent picture of the wing structures.

yeh... I actually have the Borror & White book... they show a "small, rounded, jugal lobe" on the rear hind wing of Nomadini... my photos don't show this lobe; but they they tend to fold their wings back at rest. I'll have to capture a specimen for close examination. I haven't had so much entertainment watching insects in a long time... these guys put on a great show..!! I sat down right in the middle of the area, & they didn't appear to be disturbed by my intrusion at all... they just continued with their mating behaviour... one individual even used my big toe as his favorite perch..!! Clepto-parasites... that was a new one for me.

Wikipedia notes about Nomadini:

"Another unusual behavioral habit seen in adults of various genera is that they will frequently "sleep" while grasping onto plant stems or leaves with only their mandibles."

I have not seen this 'sleeping' behavior. but....noting "large, long mandibles" used for grasping plant stems while sleeping... as in this photo I shot....
I

I captured a specimen, & examined under my dissecting scope for the "small, rounded, jugal lobe" on the rear hind wing of Nomadini... as shown in the figure E [photo/ drawing] below... there is a jugal lobe; but is is much like the figure F illustration. Not sure if this "E-type" lobe applies to ALL genera within the Nomadinae sub-family; or just the Nomadini [Nomada sp.] tribe..?? The Triepeolus lunatus species which I mentioned above is a different tribe entirely. I forwarded this thread to a couple entomologists... maybe someone can clear this up... thankx again for help... Rob

Rob, Suunto is also an entomologist. He is retired now.

Just a FYI, for anybody [attn: insectlady] that has a 'older' reference book... the subfamily "Anthophorinae" is OBSOLETE... the cuckoo bee subfamily has been "Nomadinae" for some time... not sure HOW long...but my Borror & White guide [p.358; see photo] is only ~20 yr. old...it still uses the OLD taxonomy; which is now outdated.