Small Carpenter Bee vs Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Small Carpenter Bee Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp
Scientific Name Ceratina calcarata Chrysis succincta
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Apidae Chrysididae
Size 5–8 mm 5-9 mm
Habitat Underground Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Eastern North America Europe
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Small Carpenter Bee

A tiny metallic blue-green bee that nests in the pithy stems of broken twigs. It is one of the few bee species showing rudimentary social behavior.

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Did You Know?

Mothers guard their nests and feed their developing larvae with pollen, a behavior rare among solitary bees.

Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp

A medium-sized cuckoo wasp with a metallic green forebody and a warm coppery-gold abdomen. It parasitizes the nests of cavity-nesting solitary bees.

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Did You Know?

Its heavy, pitted exoskeleton acts like armor plating, protecting it from the stings of host wasps defending their nests.