Bug FAQCompact Cellophane-Cuckoo
Epeolus compactus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Compact Cellophane-cuckoo Bee
The compact cellophane-cuckoo lives in the United States and Mexico. Females lay their eggs inside the nests of the bee Colletes kincaidii, using the bee as a host for their larvae.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It is a parasite of the bee Colletes kincaidii, with females depositing eggs in the bee’s nest.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Washington, Oregon, Colorado.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the compact cellophane-cuckoo feed on?
It parasitizes the bee Colletes kincaidii, laying its eggs in the bee’s nest.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epeolus_compactus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.