Variable Cuckoo Bumble Bee vs Metaphycus Scale Parasitoid
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Variable Cuckoo Bumble Bee | Metaphycus Scale Parasitoid |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Bombus variabilis | Metaphycus helvolus |
| Order | Hymenoptera | Hymenoptera |
| Family | Apidae | Encyrtidae |
| Size | 15-22 mm | 1-1.5 mm |
| Habitat | Grasslands | Orchards |
| Diet | Parasites | Parasitoids |
| Regions | Central and Eastern North America | Worldwide (introduced for biocontrol) |
| Conservation | Critically Endangered | Not Evaluated |
Variable Cuckoo Bumble Bee
A rare social parasite bumble bee that takes over colonies of other Bombus species in North America. Queens invade host nests, kill the resident queen, and enslave her workers.
Did You Know?
It produces no workers of its own and depends entirely on the labor of its host species to raise its offspring.
Metaphycus Scale Parasitoid
A golden-yellow parasitoid wasp that attacks black scale and other soft scale insects on citrus and olive trees. It is one of the most widely used encyrtids in commercial biological control.
Did You Know?
Adults also feed directly on young scale insects by piercing them with their ovipositor, killing hosts through both parasitism and host-feeding.