About the Bohemian Cuckoo Bumble Bee
Bombus bohemicus, also known as the gypsy's cuckoo bumblebee, is a species of socially parasitic cuckoo bumblebee found in most of Europe with the exception of the southern Iberian Peninsula and Iceland. B. bohemicus practices inquilinism, or brood parasitism, of other bumblebee species. B. bohemicus is a generalist parasite, successfully invading several species from genus Bombus. The invading queen mimics the host nest's chemical signals, allowing her to assume a reproductively dominant role as well as manipulation of host worker fertility and behavior.
B. bohemicus is part of the order Hymenoptera, which includes ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies, the family Apidae, specific to bees, and the genus Bombus, which includes all bumblebees. B. bohemicus belongs to the subgenus Psithyrus, or the cuckoo bees, which includes 29 species found in Europe and the New World. Species in this subgenus are obligate parasites of other bumble bees. The females have lost their pollen-collecting corbiculae and their ability to rear their own brood. Cuckoo bees have also entirely eliminated the worker class, producing only reproductive males and females. This form of parasitism... Wikipedia →