in the morning. Parasites Megaselia andrenae The scuttle fly Megaselia andrenae is a parasite that affects A. agilissima. It is a kleptoparasite, meaning that it steals food and lays its eggs in cells of A. agilissima and is active all day around the nesting sites. Many of the females attach themselves to the bees, while the males wait around outside the entrance to the nests for the bee to re-emerge with the female fly. Leucophora personata Leucophora personata is another parasite that affects A. agilissima. These satellite flies are more active in the morning and sit close to the entrance of the host, eventually flying up to intercept the female bees coming into the tunnels. They then wait for the host to exit their nest and then they go into their cell to use up their nectar. If a bee notices that it is being followed, it moves in large zigzags to trick the fly away from its nest. If there is another bee in the tunnel, the fly will spend less time in the nest than it would if there was no other bee in the tunnel. This is beneficial for the bees to live communally since there is the chance that another bee will be at their tunnel discouraging the flies. References External links Biolib: Andrena agilissima Fauna Europaea: Andrena agilissima distribution —Tier und natur: Andrena agilissima agilissima Hymenoptera of Africa Hymenoptera of Asia Hymenoptera of Europe Insects of North Africa Insects of Western Asia Insects described in 1770 Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli