Great Yellow Bumblebee vs Parnopes Cuckoo Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Great Yellow Bumblebee Parnopes Cuckoo Wasp
Scientific Name Bombus distinguendus Parnopes grandior
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Apidae Chrysididae
Size 15-22mm 8-13 mm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Herbivores Parasites
Regions Europe Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
Conservation Near Threatened Near Threatened

Great Yellow Bumblebee

A large strikingly yellow bumblebee with a band of darker hair. One of the rarest bumblebees in Britain.

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Did You Know?

Now restricted to a few Scottish islands and the far north coast, having disappeared from 80 percent of its range.

Parnopes Cuckoo Wasp

A large and robust cuckoo wasp with a metallic green thorax and brilliant red abdomen. It exclusively parasitizes beewolf wasps in sandy habitats.

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Did You Know?

It is entirely dependent on beewolf wasps for reproduction, so its populations decline wherever beewolves disappear.