Leaf Cutting Bee

Out, taking in all the beauty of what was once summer, becoming autumn. Some warm colors but still mostly greens. Pale soft lavender-blue catches my eye. Puffs of Blue Wood Asters (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) reaching out to the sunlight.

Snapping photos with every step. And there in one of the pictures a surprise. I didn’t even know it was there as I was clicking away. A Leaf Cutting Bee (Megachilidae). These are the bees that cut circles or ovals from leaves, making interesting patterns. They use these leaf cuttings to seal off the cells of their nests, helping to prevent the larva’s food supply from drying out.

A little critter. Smaller than a Honey Bee.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.