Busy Bees (and Wasps)

A month ago I first noticed the eastern orchard mason bees collecting pollen and making their nests in any cavity they could find at the stream study building. I also noticed quite a few cuckoo wasps in the genus Chrysura flying around the nests. This species acts as a kleptoparasite, laying their eggs in the nests of the mason bees. When the wasp larva hatch they will steal and eat the pollen collected by the bee. I've seen the mason bees quite often over the last month continuing to make more and more nests. Today I saw a second parasitic species, a wasp in the genus Monodontomerus. This species is a parasitoid, laying its eggs within the bodies of its prey, when the wasp larva hatch they eat their way out. Many species of wasps and bees have a diverse parasite/parasitoid community, often with hyperparasites (species that act as parasites/parasitoids on other parasitic/parasitoid species). I wonder if this species is a parasitoid of the mason bee, or the cuckoo wasp, or maybe some other species that is involved in this close network that I have yet to see. How many species are a part of this community inhabiting the nests of the mason bees? The more I learn about the insect world, the more I am astounded by the absolute diversity of species and life styles, especially that seen among the parasites. 

Eastern orchard mason bee (Osmia lignaria ssp. lignaria)

Cuckoo wasp (Chrysura sp.)

Chalcidoid wasp (Monodontomerus sp.) 

Eastern orchard mason bee nest up close

The bees really like the ridges of the corrugated steel on the windows

You need to look closely to notice them 

They nest wherever there is a hole of the right size

Lots of nesting space where the trim is coming off

Wasps have begun to emerge from the Diastrophus galls that I collected off of tall cinquefoil in Western MN this past winter. First the inducer and some parasitoids followed shortly after. Will any more species emerge? How many species might be supported by this one species of gall maker. 

Diastrophus sp. - will be named D. superoris shortly

Chalcidoid wasp (Eupelmus sp.)

Chalcidoid wasp








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