Halictoxenos borealis is a species of the order Strepsiptera of flying insects, that parasitize sweat bees (Lasioglossum).

[2] Nakase and Kato (2021)[3] found that the parasitised bees (Lasioglossum apristum) changed their behaviour and visit flowers not to forage but to release the first-instar larvae of their parasite Halictoxenos borealis.

Parasitised bees kept visiting nectarless flowers (Hydrangea serrata in this study), even though this behaviour might have had negative effect on them.

[3] Bees that were parasitized by a female strepsipteran during the larval-releasing stage, may encourage the discharge of mobile first-instar larvae onto flowers.

Only once the larvae have reached a specific stage of development may streptopteran parasites affect the behavior of their host.