Lots of bees in my garden in Creigiau at the moment. In particular, whilst slumped in the shade, I noticed one taking cut leaves into a drainage hole in a window frame on the back of the garage. I assume this is a Megachile sp. Leafcutter Bee. This behaviour continued throughout the day, although it obviously found it difficult squeezing through the slot carrying the leaf segment. Should I be worried that it is nest building here?
Amongst the Buff-tailed Bumblebees and various hoverflies, I also noticed a lot of these - is this a Honeybee?
Welcome to the blog Howard.
ReplyDeleteGreat bee photos!
Yes that's a honeybee. I doubt the leafcutters will do much harm - each female only builds a small nest of a few cells. You can see the pollen brush on the underside of the abdomen - this distinguishes the leafcutters from the mining bees and honey bees, which carry pollen on their legs.
George
Thanks George.
DeleteLooking back at previously taken pictures both have apparently been visiting the garden for a few weeks. Still a lot of honey bees on the lavender and oregano and occasional sightings of a leaf-cutter.
Howard
Hi Howard - just to add to Georges comment, I don't think the Leaf- cutter bees nesting in your window frame will do any harm in the short term, but to prevent drainage problems in the future I would fit caps on the seep vents over the winter. Believe it or not double glazing is designed to allow free drainage inside the window and water needs to be able to escape, otherwise unfortunate things can occur!
ReplyDeleteIf you google 'upvc drainage caps' you'll find a number of suppliers who will post you a few!
Thanks Adam.
DeleteThe cap keeps falling off so I gave up putting it back ... maybe I should get some new ones!
Howard