Thanks for the identification Keith. Do you know any biological information for this species?

the larvae live in rotting cactus (1)

It's all new & exciting for me. Thanks for the link!

I remember you shooting some and am running into them at Irvine Park and Santiago Oaks. If interested, ask for location info.

Do you know what kind they are? I have lots of pics of Diadasia already.

John suspects Mellisodes and I've seen these:


Right into the park, then second left, i.e. towards the little lake. Park on the left by the left, cross the street, and look for a break in the fence, where you can cross the RR track. There are a few big boulders. Bees were near the base of them, on the sand between lake and road. Good hunting!

Will get IDs on Santiago Oaks bees, but am fairly sure they're Diadasia. However, there are other interesting things going on there, like mites attacking the bees. Will post soon.

Those cuckoo bees look really cool. I will definitely go to look for them. I'd like to get a closer look. At Santiago Oaks there were a lot of mites whirling around the burrows of the bees moving so fast they seemed blown by the wind. I didn't try any photos because they were so small.Do you know what kind they are?

Looked like a little whirlwind. At first, I thought I was seeing dust, then saw the legs. I'd swear some had wings, but the very mediocre shots don't bear that out. Suspect they're along the lines of...

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