The male is smaller, about half a centimeter wide at the abdomen.

[3] This species lives in tundra and taiga, western mountain ranges, and some maritime regions.

[1] As in other cuckoo bees, the queen of this species enters the nest of a host species, kills the resident queen, and lives and breeds in the nest tended by the host workers.

[1] This bee is still common and widespread, though it has declined in some areas and disappeared from a few parts of its historical range.

Potential threats include habitat loss, pesticides, pathogens from domesticated pollinators, competition from introduced bees, and climate change.