Adults are roughly 7–11 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Pseudapis diversipes
A solitary bee whose nest can be infiltrated by a cuckoo bee larva already armed to murder its host siblings.
About this species
Pseudapis diversipes(Latreille, 1806)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Pseudapis diversipes is a ground-nesting bee of the Mediterranean, Africa and western Asia. Females excavate branching burrows containing clusters of brood cells, while cleptoparasitic bees exploit those underground provisions.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Halictidae · Nomiinae · Pseudapis
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Mediterranean basin, Africa and western to southern AsiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Mediterranean basin, Africa and western to southern Asia
Warm open ground, sandy paths, dry grassland and compact soils suitable for burrowing.
Diurnal and active in warm sunshine.
Pollen and nectar from flowers.
Solitary to communal nesting aggregations; each female provisions her own cells.
What makes this species remarkable?
A female excavates a main tunnel with side branches leading to clusters of vertical brood cells — a miniature underground architecture built grain by grain.
The cuckoo bee Pasites maculatus penetrates these nests; its first-instar larva is specialised to eliminate the host egg or young larva before consuming the stolen pollen store.
Males carry unusually modified hind tibiae and feet, producing conspicuous sex-specific structures involved in clasping and courtship rather than ordinary walking.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Pseudapis diversipes
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Pseudapis diversipes
- Rozen — nesting biology of Pseudapis diversipes and its cleptoparasite
- Wcislo — nesting and social behaviour of Pseudapis and related nomiine bees
- Wildbienen — Pseudapis diversipes morphology and distribution