Black oil beetle

The larvae can attract bees without a flower by producing a flowery scent, even when they are outside a flower.1

The larvae use well-developed claws to attach themselves to a visiting bee and travel back to its nest.1

Inside the bee's nest, the larva eats the bee's eggs and the pollen and nectar the bee has stored.1

The author Gerald Durrell describes this beetle's life cycle in detail in his autobiographical book My Family and Other Animals.1

After it leaves the bee's nest as an adult, it seeks a mate straight away.1