Cuckoo Wasp (or Metallic Sweat Bee)

Open sunny areas, gardens, meadows, sandy soils, and near nesting sites of host bees and wasps.

Adults feed on floral nectar; larvae of cuckoo wasps are cleptoparasites/parasitoids that consume host larvae and stored food in nests.

Solitary insects known for brilliant metallic coloration. Cuckoo wasps curl into a protective ball when threatened and lay eggs in the nests of other bees or wasps.

Harmless to humans; females lack functional stingers capable of painful stings. Benefits ecosystems as important native pollinators and natural population controllers of host insects.