♫ Claire ♫
Leaf-cutter bee
This leaf-cutter bee is finishing off the last nest cell in this tube. Leaf-cutter bees are solitary bees. 'Solitary' means that a single female, after she emerges from her pupae and is mated by a male, constructs, provisions and lays an egg in each cell in a nest by herself. This in comparison with social (called eusocial) bees like the Bumble Bees, Honey Bees and Stingless Bees, all of whom have a Queen who lays eggs and a number of workers who look after them.
Within each tube in this bee box will be a dozen or so 'cells'. Each cell is provisioned with a mixture of nectar and pollen. An egg is then laid and the cell sealed with leaf. The next cell is then created and so on until the tube is full.
The young bees develop and remain within the cells, emerging the next season.
We now have 4 of these boxes in the garden. We started with one - within minutes of putting up the first box we had our first mason bees and leaf-cutter bees in it. That afternoon I went straight back up the garden centre to buy another and gradually we built up to 4 along the shed!
Leaf-cutter bee
This leaf-cutter bee is finishing off the last nest cell in this tube. Leaf-cutter bees are solitary bees. 'Solitary' means that a single female, after she emerges from her pupae and is mated by a male, constructs, provisions and lays an egg in each cell in a nest by herself. This in comparison with social (called eusocial) bees like the Bumble Bees, Honey Bees and Stingless Bees, all of whom have a Queen who lays eggs and a number of workers who look after them.
Within each tube in this bee box will be a dozen or so 'cells'. Each cell is provisioned with a mixture of nectar and pollen. An egg is then laid and the cell sealed with leaf. The next cell is then created and so on until the tube is full.
The young bees develop and remain within the cells, emerging the next season.
We now have 4 of these boxes in the garden. We started with one - within minutes of putting up the first box we had our first mason bees and leaf-cutter bees in it. That afternoon I went straight back up the garden centre to buy another and gradually we built up to 4 along the shed!