Melecta luctuosa
| Melecta luctuosa | ||||||||||||
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Melecta luctuosa while sleeping |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Melecta luctuosa | ||||||||||||
| ( Scopoli , 1770) |
Melecta luctuosa is a bee from the family of Apidae . The species lookssimilar to Melecta festiva .
features
The bees have a body length of 12 to 14 millimeters. The females are hairy white on the face, the first tergite , the spots on the thorax and the second to fourth tergite as well as the rails ( tibia ), otherwise they are hairy black. The pygidial plate is not extended at the back. The rails of the rear legs are less than half of the hairy white. The males look similar to the females, but two-thirds of them are white on the rails of the middle legs, otherwise hairy black below.
Occurrence and way of life
The species is common in southern and central Europe. The animals fly from early April to late July. The species mainly parasitizes Anthophora aestivalis and also Anthophora crinipes , Anthophora plagiata and Anthophora retusa as a cuckoo bee .
supporting documents
- Felix Amiet, M. Herrmann, A. Müller, R. Neumeyer: Fauna Helvetica 20: Apidae 5 . Center Suisse de Cartographie de la Faune, 2007, ISBN 978-2-88414-032-4 .
