Kleptoparasitism or cleptoparasitism (literally, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding where one animal takes prey from another that has caught, killed, or otherwise prepared it, including stored food provisions, as in the case of cuckoo bees, which lay their eggs on the pollen masses made by other bees. Kleptoparasitism is also 'stealing' nest material or other inanimate objects from one animal by another. Parasitism is an interaction between two organisms, in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed. ... Families Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Halictidae Megachilidae Melittidae Stenotritidae Bee collecting pollen Bees (Apoidea superfamily) are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. ... A basket style nest A nest is place of refuge built to hold an animals eggs and/or provide a place to raise their offspring. ...

The kleptoparasite gains either by obtaining prey or other objects that it could not obtain itself, or by saving the time and effort required to obtain it. However the kleptoparasite may run the risk of injury from the victim if it is able to defend its prey.

Kleptoparasitism may be intraspecific, where the parasite is the same species as the victim, or interspecific, where the parasite is a different species.

Animals that have unusual feeding methods often suffer kleptoparasitism. For example, oystercatchers are unusual in being able to break through the shells of mussels; adult oystercatchers suffer intraspecific kleptoparasitism from juveniles that are not yet strong or skillful enough to open mussels easily. Diving birds that bring their prey to the surface suffer interspecific kleptoparasitism from gulls, which are unable to fetch fish from the sea floor themselves. Species Magellanic Oystercatcher Blackish Oystercatcher American Black Oystercatcher American Oystercatcher Canarian Black Oystercatcher African Black Oystercatcher Eurasian Oystercatcher Australian Pies Oystercatcher Chatham Islands Oystercatcher Variable Oystercatcher Sooty Oystercatcher The Oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. ... Subclasses Heterodonta Palaeoheterodonta A mussel is a bivalve mollusk that can be found in lakes, rivers, creeks, intertidal areas, and throughout the ocean. ... Genera Pagophila Larus Rissa Creagus Xema Rhodostethia Gulls are seabirds in the family Laridae. ...