Sphecodes

Sphecodes is a genus of cuckoo bees from the family Halictidae, the majority of which are black and red in colour and are colloquially known as blood bees. Sphecodes bees are kleptoparasitic on ground-nesting bees, especially bees in the genera Lasioglossum, Halictus and Andrena. The adults consume nectar, but because they use other bees' provisions to feed their offspring they do not collect pollen.

== Distribution == Sphecodes is a cosmopolitan genus with species represented on every continent except Antarctica. The genus is also very species rich, with 21 species described from Siberia, 33 species from Central Europe, 17 species from the Indian region, 26 from the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding region, and 21 from Southeast Asia. In the Americas, there are 11 species described from the Neotropics and 63 from the Nearctic. Australia has only two native species, S. manskii and S. profugus, both of which are restricted to the northeast. The species Sphecodes albilabris is thought to have been introduced to both Australia and the United States by accident.