This is an attractive little kleptoparasitic bee which uses Megachile in the subgenus Chalicodoma and Hoplitis species as hosts. Both sexes are primarily black in colour with a sparse covering of greyish-white hairs which become denser along the rear margins of the tergites, giving them a somewhat ‘banded’ appearance. The first tergite (and frequently the second) are usually dark red in colour, but towards the north of its range, specimens may be enturely black. Other similar species usually possess more red colouration on the abdomen, extending on to tergites 3, 4 or 5. The host species include Megachile  parietina, Megachile pyrenaica, Hoplitis adunca, Hoplitis anthocopoides and Hoplitis benoisti.

Distribution: Throughout southern and central Europe, from Portugal eastwards to Ukraine as far north as northern Germany. It has been recorded on most of the larger Mediterranean islands. It also occurs in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Israel and northeastern Turkey.

Flight Period: Flies in a single generation between April – July, generally peaking in May and June.

Habitat: A variety of habitats are used, including field margins, maquis, woodland edges, scrub and gardens. It can often be found around dry soil banks and stonework looking for its hosts.

Flowers Visited: Not an avid nectar feeder, but it will sometimes visit flowers of asteraceae in particular.

Personal Records: I have found this species outside the town of Nerja on the southern Spanish coast. Here, both sexes were observed flying around a large nesting aggregation of Hoplitis species, which was constructed in a west-facing clay bank.