I’d seen ‘our’ Leafcutter roosting in the beehouses for a few weeks now, but tonight was very happy to see that she’s started nesting there! As I went out into the garden after work one night I saw her going to and from the beehouse, returning each time clasping a section of leaf before taking it into the tunnel.
I grow a rose bush in the garden especially for Leafcutter bee nesting material – I’d read that rose leaves are their preferred choice when constructing nests. I’d been watching this carefully to spot any signs that it was being used with no joy, and each trip the bee made to fetch leaves was very short – with only a minute or so between her leaving the beehouse and returning. So where was she going?
It didn’t take me long to find the answer. About 6 feet away from the beehouses is a Snowberry bush, and this showed the tell-tale signs that a Leafcutter bee had been at work.
That night I also managed to get a shot of our Leafcutter bee-hind, which meant that from this and her size I could finally identify her as a Wood-Carving Leafcutter Bee (Megachile ligniseca)
I staked out the beehouse over the weekend and managed to get a shot of her bringing a leaf back to the nest.
I thought she must be getting close to finishing this nest as she seemed to be ‘auditioning’ new tunnels in between completing the current one, flying around the front of the house to view all the options and popping in and out of tunnels for a closer look.
Then by the end of the weekend, she’d finished! Leafcutters always seem to like to finish a nest off by sticking a full leaf to the front for a final flourish.
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