Bug FAQRed-footed Cuckoo Leafcutter
Coelioxys rufitarsis · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Megachilidae
Also called: Red-footed Sharptail, Red-footed Cuckoo Leaf-cutter Bee
The red-legged cuckoo leafcutter bee (Coelioxys rufitarsis) belongs to the Megachilidae family. It lives in North America and lays its eggs in the nests of other leafcutter bees such as Megachile latimanus, M. melanophoea, and M. perihirta.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Coelioxys rufitarsis is a bee species in the family Megachilidae, commonly called the red-legged cuckoo leafcutter.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, Utah, California, New York, Oregon, Michigan, Vermont, Massachusetts.
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 red-legged cuckoo leafcutter bee feed on?
It lays its eggs in the nests of other leafcutter bees and its larvae develop by using the host’s provisions.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Megachilidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelioxys_rufitarsis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.