Gooden's nomad bee, Nomada goodeniana, a large black-and-yellow wasp-like cuckoo bee with orange legs

Nomada goodeniana, Gooden's nomad bee. Aiwok, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Nomada goodeniana| Nomad bee Common Cleptoparasite Wasp-like

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UK Bee Species

Gooden's Nomad Bee (Nomada goodeniana)

Nomada goodeniana (Kirby, 1802) · subfamily Nomadinae · family Apidae

Gooden's nomad bee is one of the largest and brightest of Britain's cuckoo bees, a slim, almost hairless insect banded in black and yellow that is far more often taken for a small wasp than a bee. It builds no nest of its own. Instead it slips into the burrows of large mining bees and leaves its young to live on their stores. It is common across most of Britain, and finding one is usually a sign that a mining bee colony is close by. See where it sits among Britain's bees on the UK Native Bee Species Map, or among the world's bees in the World Bee Atlas.

Quick Facts

Common nameGooden's nomad bee

Scientific nameNomada goodeniana

AuthorityKirby, 1802

FamilyApidae (Nomadinae)

UK statusWidespread and common

SizeLarge for a nomad (10 to 14 mm)

HostsBuffish & grey-patched mining bees

ActiveApril to June; some July to August

LifestyleCleptoparasite (cuckoo bee)

MarkingsBlack with yellow bands, orange legs

Pollen brushNone; collects no pollen

LookOften mistaken for a wasp

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Hymenoptera
Family	Apidae
Subfamily	Nomadinae
Genus	Nomada
Species	Nomada goodeniana

A cuckoo bee that looks like a wasp

Gooden's nomad bee is a bright black-and-yellow insect and one of the largest of the roughly 30 Nomada species in Britain, with females reaching 10 to 14 mm.^[2] Like all nomad bees it is slim and almost hairless, with bold yellow bands and spots across a black body and orange or reddish legs and antennae, an appearance that fools most people into seeing a small wasp.^[5] Because it does not gather pollen for young of its own, it lacks the dense pollen brushes that pollen-collecting bees carry, which adds to the lean, wasp-like look.^[4]

The genus name Nomada comes from a Greek word for roaming or wandering, a fair description of a bee that spends its days drifting low over the ground in search of other bees' nests.^[5] The species was described by William Kirby in 1802 and named in honour of the naturalist and clergyman Samuel Goodenough, one of his contemporaries.^[3]

Telling it from other nomad bees

Gooden's nomad bee is most easily confused with Marsham's nomad bee (Nomada marshamella). The surest difference is on the second abdominal segment: Gooden's carries a complete yellow band across it, where Marsham's shows two separated yellow spots. Gooden's also has yellow, rather than brownish, plates at the wing bases.^[2] On the Channel Islands it flies alongside the very similar Nomada succincta, which has yellower legs with a dark patch on the inner face of the hind shin and larger yellow markings on the female's face.^[2] Males of Gooden's resemble the females but have partly darkened antennae and a patch of dense golden hairs beneath the base of the hind thighs.^[2]

A complete yellow band across the second segment of the abdomen, and yellow wing-bases, separate Gooden's nomad bee from its near-twin, Marsham's nomad bee.

A cuckoo of the mining bees

Gooden's nomad bee is a cleptoparasite, a cuckoo bee that lives at the expense of mining bees in the genus Andrena.^[1] Its main hosts are large spring mining bees of the nigroaenea group, above all the buffish mining bee and the grey-patched mining bee, with the cliff mining bee (Andrena thoracica) and, to a lesser extent, the chocolate mining bee (Andrena scotica) also used.^[1][5] The female patrols low over the host's nesting ground and, while the owner is away foraging, enters an open burrow and lays an egg in a provisioned cell.^[6] When the cuckoo grub hatches it destroys the host's egg with large sickle-shaped jaws and eats the pollen and nectar that were meant for the host larva.^[6]

0 nests

Gooden's nomad bee never digs a nest. Every one of its young is raised in a burrow built and stocked by a mining bee.^[1]

Where and when you will see it

This is a widespread and frequently seen bee over most of the British Isles, scarcer only in Scotland, and it occurs widely across Europe.^[1] National recording schemes do not regard it as scarce or threatened in Britain, although in Ireland, where it is rarely recorded, it is treated as a species of conservation concern.^[1] Look for it flying slowly over short turf and bare, sunny ground in spring, from April to June, with a smaller second showing in July and August where its host has a late generation.^[1] Adults take nectar from flowers such as dandelions, willow catkins and brassicas, but they carry no pollen home because there is no nest to provision.^[5]

Apr

Gooden's nomad bee flies mainly from April to June, timed to the emergence of its mining-bee hosts, with a smaller brood in late summer.^[1]

Why the nomad bee matters

A cuckoo bee can only exist where its host thrives, so a healthy population of Gooden's nomad bee is a good sign that the mining bees beneath the surface are doing well.^[1] Cuckoo bees of this kind are a natural part of a working bee community, not a threat to it, and they add a layer of richness to the spring fauna of banks, verges and sunny lawns. Protecting the open, sparsely vegetated ground that mining bees need keeps their cuckoos in the picture too. You can meet another British cuckoo bee in our guide to the painted nomad bee.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Gooden's nomad bee?

It is a cuckoo bee, Nomada goodeniana, one of Britain's largest and commonest nomad bees. Rather than building a nest, it lays its eggs in the burrows of large mining bees, where its young eat the food the host had stored.

Why is it called Gooden's nomad bee?

William Kirby, who described the species in 1802, named it after the naturalist and clergyman Samuel Goodenough. The genus name Nomada comes from a Greek word for wandering, reflecting the way these bees roam over the ground searching for host nests.

Is Gooden's nomad bee a wasp or a bee?

It is a true bee, despite looking like a small wasp. The wasp-like appearance, slim, shiny and black-and-yellow, comes from its cuckoo lifestyle: because it collects no pollen, it lacks the furry pollen brushes that pollen-gathering bees carry.

What does Gooden's nomad bee parasitise?

Its main hosts are large spring mining bees of the nigroaenea group, especially the buffish mining bee (Andrena nigroaenea) and the grey-patched mining bee (Andrena nitida), with the cliff and chocolate mining bees also used.

Do Gooden's nomad bees sting?

They have a sting but are not aggressive and pose no real concern to people. Cuckoo bees spend their time searching for host nests, not defending a colony, so they are very unlikely to sting unless handled.

When are Gooden's nomad bees active?

Mainly from April to June, timed to the emergence of their mining-bee hosts, with a smaller second appearance in July and August where the host has a late generation.

Do nomad bees collect pollen or make honey?

No. Nomad bees gather no pollen and build no nest, so they make no honey. They visit flowers only to feed themselves on nectar. Only the honeybee makes honey in any quantity; compare the bee families in the World Bee Atlas.

Is Gooden's nomad bee rare?

Not in Britain, where it is widespread and common, scarcer only in Scotland. In Ireland it is rarely recorded and is treated as a species of conservation concern, so its status depends on where you are.

Related species

Nomad bee

Painted Nomad Bee

Nomada fucataRead more → Main host

Buffish Mining Bee

Andrena nigroaeneaRead more → Host

Grey-patched Mining Bee

Andrena nitidaRead more →

Sources & references

BWARS (Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society). Species account: Nomada goodeniana (hosts in the nigroaenea group, flight April to June with a small late brood, British distribution and status). bwars.com.
Falk, S. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland, Bloomsbury, and the Steven Falk Flickr collection: Nomada goodeniana (size, complete yellow band on tergite 2, separation from N. marshamella and N. succincta, hosts).
Else, G.R. & Edwards, M. (2018). Handbook of the Bees of the British Isles. Ray Society (taxonomy, nomenclature and cuckoo-bee biology).
BWARS. Britain's Bees, genus Nomada account: cleptoparasites of ground-nesting bees, lacking pollen-carrying structures. bwars.com.
Natural History Society of Northumbria. Introducing the Nomad Bees: markings, hosts (Andrena nigroaenea, A. scotica) and the meaning of Nomada. nhsn.org.uk.
Habitas / National Museums Northern Ireland. Nomada goodeniana: cleptoparasite life cycle, egg-laying in host cells and larval habits. habitas.org.uk.

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