Sitting in the garden, quietly reflecting can bring about many surprises. Recently one of those surprises was caught out of the corner of my eye. As I was sitting looking about at nothing in particular, I spied a very bright green something moving about on the arbor.
Of course I had to check it out, and this is what I saw. A small bee carrying what looked like a leaf and trying to squeeze into this hole in the arbor. I grabbed my camera, and was riveted to the spot. I watched the bee squeeze in and then come back out in a flash, leave and come back to do it all over again several times.
I even followed the bee to see what it was doing once it flew away. It lighted upon a leaf 
and seconds later it was back with another leaf trying to stuff itself in this small hole. I had never seen anything like this especially the tenacity with which it kept pushing until it made it inside the hole. Needless to say I had to find out more about this bee. Of course it’s common name is Leafcutter(ing) Bee (Megachilidae).
These bees they are important native pollinators in North America especially for wildflowers, fruits, vegetables and other crops. Considered one of the most efficient pollinators they are most active when the weather warms to above 70 degrees. I saw mine in late August as the temps were still in the high 80s. I suspect they have been in the garden all summer just gone unnoticed by me until now. These bees will visit plants many times and swim around in the pollen making them an often sought after pollinator. And they are usually not aggressive unless threatened in some way which is nice when you are observing them as close as I was.
They are solitary bees about the size of a honeybee that do not create a hive. Instead they build nests of divided cells with each half inch sized leaf they cut. They look for natural or artificial cavities, the size of a pencil, like the holes found around our garden furniture or structures like my arbor. You might find them building a long line of cells in hollow stems which is one reason I try not to clean up my garden too much especially if I see activity in the area.
Each rolled leaf cell houses an egg with food. Once the egg hatches the larva eats the food, molts, spins a cocoon and finally emerges as an adult to mate, lay eggs and die. Of course they do a lot of pollinating in between the mating and laying eggs as the pollen is one of the food sources for the larva. Many newly hatched adult bees will overwinter, and emerge as spring warms by chewing through the protective covering on the nest.
Leafcutters prefer broadleaf deciduous plants most notably roses, azaleas, ash, redbud, crepe myrtles and any others with thin smooth leaves. 
Of these they really seem to prefer rose leaves which can make gardeners angry as they will take chunks from many leaves. You can see the damage on this plant although it was only an ash seedling so I was not alarmed. They say the cuts in the leaves will not harm the plant, but it sure doesn’t look very appealing.
The benefit of this bee’s pollinating far outweighs any damage to the look of the plant in my opinion. Those that have tried pesticides on the leaves have not deterred the bees. So why bother with harmful chemicals as they come and go so quickly, and I have lots of leaves to give them. If the plant is very prized, then use some sort of cheesecloth as a barrier when the bees are active. This actually has been shown to be effective as they will then move onto another plant. Of course nature will keep things in balance as parasitic wasps, flies, beetles and some ants will attack the nests of these bees keeping the number down.
The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it. ~Jacques Yves Cousteau
© 2012, Donna Donabella. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Donna Donabella
Lucky you for seeing this. I will have to keep my eyes open next summer. Another reason to put up a bee house to attract these fascinating native bees.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..Exploring The Native World
I agree Mary. I have a bee house that I need to put up, but apparently the bees have decided not to wait for me. They are finding all sorts of spots to make a nest. Creative and industrious critters.
Donna Donabella recently posted..A Buggy Book Review
Watching leafcutter bees was one of the children’s favourite activities this summer. It was amazing to see preschoolers sit still and observe the bees for long periods of time.
Cheryl recently posted..Upgrading Spaces
Gardens and nature are the perfect classroom aren’t they Cheryl.
Donna Donabella recently posted..A Buggy Book Review
Nice post, Donna. There’s certainly lots to see when one takes the time to sit quietly and observe in the wildlife garden. Good plug also for “NO Pesticides”.
Kathy @nativegardener recently posted..Where To Go To See Native Plants in California?
Thanks Kathy. Gardens are meant to sit in and look at…Wildlife gardens are also meant to explore…I love to wander and do a bit of weeding etc which puts me in the garden to witness these cool sights. Of course if we use pesticides, there are none of these sights which is so sad.
Donna Donabella recently posted..A Buggy Book Review
Great post Donna! I too just discovered these bees in my garden this year. I have their life cycle posted on my facebook page if you’d like to see –
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.423297704387110.126024.139577356092481&type=1
How funny Judy. I will check out your page..thanks!
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..A Buggy Book Review
Hi Donna,
I’d never heard of a leafcutter bee until a while back in this blog. Now you’ve expanded my knowledge by discussing their unique habits which really is pretty amazing. Nice photos! Keep sharing your observations, we learn so much!
Loret recently posted..Wainin’ Wabbits?
I will Loret…I just love finding new things and sharing here…and am so glad others enjoy these discoveries too!
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Seasonal Celebrations Revealed-September 2012
A lovely post Donna. I have never seen one, but my neighbour has. We both notice chunks taken out of our rose leaves, but last year they almost stripped one of my peony plants bare! How wonderful to observe it cutting deftly away – there’s always some new wonder to discover!
Cathy recently posted..Sage Honey Update and Kitchen Windowsills
How fascinating Cathy to finally know the culprit. Indeed the garden is a “wonder to discover”!
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Seasonal Celebrations Revealed-September 2012
Donna, There’s a lot to be said for sitting quietly and just observing the background noise in your garden. Those ‘out of the corner of my eye’ observations are usually so interesting. I’ve never heard of a leaf cutter bee but I have seen damage on some of my leaves like the damage in your photos. I’m going to have to be more observant now.
Debbie recently posted..Getting Your Wildlife Garden Ready for Winter
I had noticed it before on leaves and had vaguely heard about the leafcutter…it is so exciting to find these elusive creatures!
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Seasonal Celebrations Revealed-September 2012
Donna,
thank you for opening the eyes of your readers to more of these delightful non-aggressive bees. It’s so frustrating to hear people jump at the sound of a bee. Solitary bees, like the leaf cutter or the spring mason bees have no reason to sting. In the early mornings, you can pet bumble bees. Hornets & wasps give all bees a bad rap.
If you don’t mind, I’m going to link this blog to one of my “Monday Pollinator” posts on our crownbees Facebook. It’s always great to read great content like this. Refreshing!
Absolutely Dave link away. It is sad that people are so afraid of bees. My husband loves to pet the bumbles and while we give the hornets and wasps a wide berth, we need them. As I have been weeding around the garden, I have found more leafcutters using many of my ash tree seedlings. So glad you enjoyed the post! Glad I found your FB page.
Oh now I have to mark this to look for these bees next season..great post Donna…Michelle
Rambling Woods recently posted..I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way…
You are very welome Michelle. When I am out and about weeding I find the cut leaves and know they are around.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-October 2012
Donna,
Awesome photos of the leafcutters! How wonderful you found the nest and watched it all unfold.
Heather
Heather recently posted..Native Bee Spotlight: Small Carpenter Bees ~ Ceratina spp.
I feel like a little kid when these opportunities present themselves…I know once they do, they will become a post…the critters have spoken. Soon though the garden will be quiet and the critters long gone…then time for reminiscing about my native plants. So glad you enjoyed the post Heather!
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..As The Blooms Fade