Leaf Cutter Bees

By Ryjocl @RyanClarkPhotos

Have you ever seen marks like these on leaves in your garden, especially rose bushes?

These are most likely to be made by a type of solitary bee called the leafcutter bee (megachile sp.). There are over 200 solitary bees in the UK, each providing an important role in pollination. I am lucky enough to have two of these bees nesting in the insect house I made.

These bees leave their nest…

They land on a suitable leaf and start cutting away using the mandibles.

They then come back to the nest carrying the leaf..

You can see the video of this here