Thyreus is an Old World genus of bees, one of many that are commonly known as cuckoo bees, or cloak-and-dagger bees, and are kleptoparasites of other species of bees, mostly in the genus Amegilla. They all have strongly contrasting patterns of coloration – three species from the Sydney region, Thyreus nitidulus, T. lugubris, and T. caeruleopunctatus are bright blue and black.

Thyreus
Thyreus nitidulus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Tribe: Melectini
Genus: Thyreus
Panzer, 1806
Type species
Nomada scutellaris
Fabricius, 1781
Synonyms
  • Crocissa
  • Crocisa

Species

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See also

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  Media related to Thyreus at Wikimedia Commons