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No, Hickman is searching for a special California native bee, Triepeolus verbesinae, a parasitic wasp-shaped “cuckoo” bee, so named because its behavior is similar to cuckoo birds, which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

A cuckoo bee's parenting practices go something like this: First, they will find another bees' nest.

Sometimes cuckoo bee mothers will kill the competing bee larvae in advance to make sure that the cuckoo's young are fed.

It’s known commonly as a cuckoo bee, but its scientific name is a mouthful: Epeoloides pilosulus.

Among the native species that are severely threatened are the Gulf Coast solitary bee, the macropis cuckoo bee and the sunflower leafcutting bee, which is now rarely seen.