SHARP-EATMAN
NATURE
PHOTOGRAPHY
ID GUIDE TO WILD BEES
OF THE NATIONAL BUTTERFLY CENTER
Mission, Texas
PARANOMADA CUCKOO BEES
Pranomada
Above Photo Copyright 2025 Dan Jones
PARANOMADA CUCKOO BEES
Genus Paranomada - Tribe Brachynomadini
The bees shown here were found by photographer Dan Jones in Starr County's La Puerta Tract and posted on i-Naturalist in May 2025. His discovery marks the first public documentation of the shining paranomada (Paranomada nitida) in Texas.
Paranomada are a small genus of cuckoo bees belonging to the somewhat obscure, under-researched bee tribe Brachynomadini. This tribe occurs only in the Western Hemisphere, and in North America it contains a mere three genera.
Traits of the genus Paranomada
In 1937 entomologists G. Gorton Linsley and T.B. Mitchell erected the genus Paranomada and described its single known species -- Paranomada nitida. Since then, two other North American species have been added to the genus: Paranomada velutina, described by Linsley in 1939, and P. californica, described by Linsley in 1945.
Paranomada are 5 to 11 mm long and generally resemble small nomad bees, The Latin prefix “para” means “nearly," and thus this genus name might be translated as “almost a nomad bee”. Paranomada, like nomad bees, tend to be largely black or red, but Paranomada lack the yellow or pale markings typical of nomad bees.
Paranomada have flattened and elongated bodies that are shiny and lack pitting or punctures. The Paranomada thorax in particular is strongly flattened, so that the scutum (first thorax segment) is much wider than it is deep. The scutellum (2nd thorax segment) is also mostly flat, although it curves downward near the hind rim. The abdomen is flat underneath and girded with dense bands of hair.
The coxae (upper leg segments) of female Paranomada are lamellate (structured in layers). This trait sets them apart from all other members of their tribe.
The clypeus of the male Paranomada (the face part above the mandibles) has a deep suture that runs from the tentorial pits to the mandibles. This trait, along with the lack of yellow or pale facial markings, easily distinguishes male Paranomada from nomad cuckoo bees.
Traits of the tribe Brachynomadini
On all Brachynomadini, the forewing has a marginal cell that is pointed, with its tip resting near the wing margin.
Female Brachynomadini share these distinctive characteristics: (1) the pseudopygidial area (on the tip of the abdomen) tends to be half dark, and half covered with silvery hairs parted in the middle. (2) The fifth sternal segment (S5) has a hairy protrusion or lobe. (3) S6 has a cleft situated between two pointed or narrowly rounded lobes.
Range of Paranomada
The genus Paranomada has a limited range in the U.S. and Mexico: it is known from Arizona, New Mexico, southern California, and a few states in the northern half of Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora and Zacatecas).
There are a handful of public records of Paranomada from Texas. All are for Paranomada velutina found in Big Bend National Park, located in Brewster County (in 1954, 1957 and 1992).
The range of Paranomada nitida is particularly narrow. The Bee Library, a nationwide research database, documents 54 specimens of Paranomada nitida from prominent museums and collections throughout the country, all of which come from Arizona and New Mexico.
Paranomada cuckoo bee hosts
The hosts of Brachynomadini include Colletinae, Exomalopsini and Panurginae. In 1977, entomologist Jerome G. Rozen, Jr. identified the host of Paranomada velutina as Exomalopsis solani.
Rozen noted that the flat bodies of Paranomada possibly enabled them to press themselves against nest tunnel walls in order to avoid notice by passing host bees. Because Exomalopsis are communal (with several occupying a single nest), the avoidance of detection might be more difficult than with solitary bees.
The specific host of Paranomada nitida has not been determined. It is notable, however, that Exomalopsis solani is a common species at the Starr County location where the bees shown here were found.
Floral associations
Paranomada nitida appear to have flexible floral preferences. The Texas bees shown here were found on native Texas kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana), a member of the pea family. In 1972, Rozen and Favreau documented a male Paranomada nitida in Wilcox, Arizona foraging on Nama, a member of the family Boraginaceae.
The female Paranomada nitida from Arizona shown below was recorded feeding on southwestern annual saltmarsh aster (Symphyotrichum parviflorum). The male from New Mexico was foraging on broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae). Both flowers are kinds of Asteraceae.
A female shining paranomada
Photo Copyright 2025 Dan Jones
A pair of shining paranomada
Photo Copyright 2025 Dan Jones
Bossert S., Murray E.A., Almeida E.A.B., Brady S.G., Blaimer B.B. & Danforth B.N. 2019. Combining transcriptomes and ultraconserved elements to illuminate the phylogeny of Apidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 130:121–131.
Linsley, E.G. 1943. Revisions of the genera Townsendiella, Triopasites, and Paranomada. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 69:93-106.
Linsley, E. G. 1945. A new species of Paranomada with notes on Melecta thoracica Cresson. Entomological News 56:149-153.
Linsley, E.G. and Michener C.D. 1937. Some new genera and species of North American parasitic bees. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 13(1-2):82-84.
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World, Second ed. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp. 641-642.
Michener, C. D., McGinley R. J., & Danforth B. N. (1994). The Bee Genera of North and Central America (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 41, 165, fig. 500.
Rozen, J.G. Jr. 1977. Immature stages of and ethological observations on the cleptoparasitic bee tribe Nomadini (Apoidea, Anthophoridae). American Museum Novitiates. 2638:1-16.
TAXONOMY OF PARANOMADA
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Nomadinae
Tribe: Brachynomadini
Genus: Paranomada
Species shown below on this page:
Paranomada nitida
(Shining paranomada cuckoo bee)
Shining paranomada cuckoo bee
Paranomada nitida
Family: Apidae
Size: 7-8 mm (female)
7-8 mm (approx.) (male)
Associated flora:
Texas kidneywood
(Eysenhardtia texana)
Plant Family: Fabaceae
When and where seen:
May 22-23, 2025
La Puerta Tract
Starr County TX
Paranomada nitida
female from Texas
Copyright 2025 Dan Jones
Female (left) and male (right) shining paranomada: note the flat underside of the female bee's abdomen.
A female Paranomada nitida: the bee is largely red, and the hairs on its head and body are golden. Gold apical hair bands gird T2-T4 (the second through fourth segments of the abdomen). All of the tergal bands are entire (not interrupted).
T1 (the first segment of the abdomen) is shiny, red and relatively hairless.
The female paranomada's thorax is flat. Its legs (trochanters, femurs, tibiae and basitarsi) are red and clothed with golden hairs.
Paranomada nitida
males from Texas
Copyright 2025 Dan Jones
Male and female Paranomada nitida: note the flat undersides of the bees' abdomens.
A male Paranomda nitida: apical bands of golden hair rim T2-T5 (the second through fifth abdominal segments). T1 has a narrow band of hair near the base. T1 is mostly red, with some black on the front face. The integument of the rest of the abdomen is darkly colored.
The bee's scutum (lst thorax segment) is wide and flat and largely black with red margins. The tegulae are dark red.
There are dense patches of pale-gold hair on the sides of the thorax.
Female (left) and male (right) paranomada nitida
Photo Copyright 2025 Dan Jones
Traits of Paranomada nitida (the shining paranomada)
Linsley and Mitchell described the female Paranomada nitida in 1943, but the male bee has never been described. Thus, Dan Jones' photographs of Lower Rio Grande Valley Paranomada nitida offer a rare opportunity to view the species.
The photographs at left are of one female and two male bees. These bees show traits typical of all Paranomada: they generally resemble small nomad bees, but lack pale or yellow markings. The bees' thoraxes are wide and flat, and their abdomens are elongated and flat beneath.
On both the male and female bees, the hairs appearing on the head, body and legs are golden-yellow. The bees' wings are dusky brown, becoming generally darker toward the outer edges. There are prominent colorless glassy window-like areas near each wing tip. The wing veins are brown.
Female: Much of the female's body is red. The antennal scapes, pedicels and lower third of F1 are red; the remaining flagellum is black. Much of the upper face above the antennae and behind the compound eyes is also red. The tegulae and margins of the scutum are dark red. The rest of the integument of the face and thorax is black. The propodeum is also black.
On the female, T1 (the first segment of the abdomen) is red, except on the front face, which is black. T2 is entirely red. T3-T6 are brownish red, growing progressively darker apically. The legs are almost entirely red, except for the coxae, which are mostly black but red apically. The coxae are lamellate (structured in layers) and the femurs are broad near the base, narrowing apically.
On the female, T1 is shiny and nearly hairless. T2 has a narrow basal band of golden hairs. There are broad apical bands of golden hairs on T2-T4. Dense pale-gold hairs also cover the lateral edges of T2-T5, and part of T6. All of the tergal bands are entire (not interrupted). The tibiae and basitarsi of all legs are clothed in fine, short, pale-gold hairs.
Male: The two male bees shown here differ from the female in being more darkly colored. On the male the following parts are mostly red: the antennal scape, pedicel and F1; the tegulae; the legs except for the coxae; and T1 except for the front face. Otherwise, the integument on most of the face, thorax, terga and sternum, is black. The femurs of the middle and hind legs are broad at the base, more than 2x the width of the tibiae.
On the male, T1 is shiny and nearly hairless. T2 has a narrow basal band of pale-gold hair. There are broad apical bands of golden hairs on T2-T5. T6 is partly covered with dark hairs. All of the tergal bands are entire (not interrupted.) The pygidial plate is a roughly equilateral triangle with a truncate tip. The tibiae and basitarsi of all legs are clothed in fine, short, pale-gold hairs.
Paranomada Species of the Lower Rio Grande Valley
Are Paranomada nitida and Paranomada velutina the same species?
Public domain photo
This is a public domain photograph of a Paranomada aff. nitida housed in the University of Texas entomological collection. (The abbreviation "aff." means "resembling" and indicates tentativenes in the species diagnosis.) This bee has an entirely red integument and light brown wings. The hairs on its head and body are golden, rather than white like those of the female Paranomada nitida described by Linsley in 1943.
Paranomada nitida
females from Arizona
Copyright 2025 Jillian Cowles
This is a female Paranomada nitida found in Arizona on October 7, 2024. This bee was foraging on southwestern annual saltmarsh aster. (Photos Copyright 2025 Jillian Cowles).
The integument of this female bee is entirely red. The tergal bands on T2-T4 are white rather than golden -- as in Linsley's 1943 original description of the species. Its wings, however, are relatively dark rather than light brown.
Note that T2 and T3 on this bee are interrupted. The shiny integument of T1 and the scutum are typical of Paranomada.
Note the flat thorax typical of Paranomada.
Paranomada nitida
males from New Mexico
Copyright 2024 Colin MacKenzie
This is a male Paranomada nitida from Road Forks, New Mexico, found by Colin Mackenzie in September 2023. Note that the tergal hair bands are white (not golden). (Photos Copyright 2023 Colin MacKenzie)
This bee has more extensively red coloration than the male bees from Texas featured above. Among other features, the integument of T2 is red on this bee. T2 and T3 are interrupted. The male's wings are a relatively dark brown.
Dorsal view of male bee
Alternate view of male bee: this male was foraging on broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae).
Paranomada velutina
males from Arizona
Copyright 2025 Jillian Cowles
A male Paranomada velutina: this bee is entirely black but otherwise generally similar to Paranomada nitida. This specimen was found in the same location, on the same plant as the female Paranomada nitida shown above. (All photos copyright Jillian Cowles).
This male Paranomada velutina, like the male Paranomada nitida shown above, has tergal hairbands on T2-T5 and pygidial plates that are shaped like roughly equilateral triangles with blunt tips. All of the tergal bands are entire (not interrupted).
The tergal bands on this bee are more ivory than golden in color. Its wings are dark brown. Note the flat scutum and colorless, glassy area on the outer forewing.
Frontal view of bee
Examples of red color variations
in other South Texas species
Megachile inimica sayi (an entirely black female leafcutter from New York, with white tergal and scopal hairs)
Megachile inimica inimica (a female leafcutter from Texas, with red legs and yellow tergal and scopal hairs)
As of 2025, publicly available photographs of Paranomada nitida are rare. None exist in encyclopedic databases such as the Bee Library and the Discover Life bee species checklist. Other sources are limited. A handful of images appear at i-Naturalist and Bug Guide. Wikimedia Commons offers a public domain photograph of a red female Paranomada aff. nitida of uncertain origin, housed in the University of Texas-Austin entomological collection.
Photographers Jillian Cowles and Colin MacKenzie have generously contributed here their Paranomada photographs originally posted on i-Naturalist in 2024 and 2023. Their photographs show a female Paranomada nitida from Arizona that is uniformly red and more brightly colored than the female Texas bees featured above – and a male from New Mexico that is more extensively red than the largely black male Texas Paranomada nitida.
Collectively, the images of Paranomada nitida from Texas, Arizona and New Mexico indicate significant color variation among individuals of the species. Such color variation raises questions about the definition of the species Paranomada nitida itself.
The two species Paranomada nitida and Paranomada velutina are generally similar and separated largely by color. Images of a male Paranomada velutina contributed by Jillian Cowles appear below. This male was found on October 8, 2024, one day after the red female Paranomada nitida shown above it: both were discovered on the same plant, in the same Arizona location.
Linsley (1943) originally differentiated Paranomada nitida from P. velutina based on his examination of female specimens alone: his species key noted that female Paranomada nitida were reddish brown with white bands of hair on T1-T4; had pale brownish forewings with brown wing veins; were approximately 7.5 mm; and occurred in Arizona. Paranomada velutina, by contrast, were black; had brown forewings with dark brown wing veins; measured 8-11 mm; and occurred in Arizona and lower California.
These species definitions are problematic, because there appears to be a continuum of Paranomada nitida / Paranomada velutina that range from all black to mostly black, to mostly red to all red. In addition, some of the redder female specimens, like those shown here from Texas, have traits attributed by Linsley to P. velutina: their tergal bands are yellowish rather than white, and their forewings are a relatively dark brown.
Finally, it may be notable that, Linsley (1945) emphasized that the tergal bands of Paranomada velutina are entire, a trait that distinguished it from a third species, Paranomada californica. His initial description of the female Paranomada nitida noted that its T2 was interrupted. These traits play out inconsistently in the Paranomada featured on here. On the Texas male and female Paranomada nitida, and on the Arizona P. velutina, all tergal bands are entire; on the Arizona female and New Mexico male, T2 and T3 are interrupted.
Red color variations in bee species generally
It is not uncommon for entirely black bee species of the northern United States to have redder variations in the south. Myriad examples from multiple bee families are found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Several appear in this bee guide.
Such color differences often define subspecies rather than confer separate species status. The female leafcutter Megachile inimica sayi, for example, is an entirely black bee with white tergal bands and scopal hairs, found in the northern United States. Its southern counterpart, found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is Megachile inimica inimica, which has red legs and yellowish orange tergal bands and scopal hairs.
Color differences may even be dismissed as mere “variations,” especially when subspecies already have been defined for other reasons. For example, in South Texas, Anthidiellum notatum gilense has both predominantly black and predominantly red forms.
In conclusion: Perhaps the male Paranomada nitida has never been described because no male of the species can be clearly defined. Some male P. nitida are mostly red while others are mostly black. Some have golden (rather than white) tergal hair bands. Some redder males have relatively dark wings. Some may even be all black: in at least once instance, an all-black Mexican male Paranomada nitida, with yellowish tergal bands, has been identified by i-Naturalist curators.
Quite possibly, Paranomada nitida and P. velutina are the same bee. The concurrence of the black male Paranomada velutina and red female P. nitida above in the same Arizona location and time frame, feeding on identical flora, suggests this possibility.
CITE THIS PAGE: Sharp, Paula and Ross Eatman. "Paranomada." Wild Bees of the National Butterfly Center of Mission, Texas. 15 Jan. 2019, http://www.wildbeestexas.com. Accessed [day/month/year guide accessed].