Bug FAQTwo-banded Cellophane-cuckoo Bee
Epeolus bifasciatus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: two-spotted cuckoo nomad bee, Two-banded Cellophane-Cuckoo
The two-banded cellophane-cuckoo bee lives in Central and North America. It is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of the bee Colletes latitarsis.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Parasitizes the bee Colletes latitarsis.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found in Central America and North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, Michigan, Maryland, Vermont.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the two-banded cellophane-cuckoo bee feed on?
It is a parasite of the bee Colletes latitarsis.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epeolus_bifasciatus
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.