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Leafcutter bees

Megachile spp.

Leafcutter bees

Nesting Preference

Solitary cavity nesters; cracks/crevices, beetle holes, pithy stems; sometimes ground; line cells with cut leaves/petals.

Active Time of Year

Late spring through summer (varies).

Species in Genus (Oregon/Global)

40 species

Favorite Flowers

  • Helianthus annuus (common sunflower)
  • Medicago sativa (alfalfa)
  • Allium cepa (onion)
  • Cirsium spp. (thistles)

Megachile are the bees with scissors, if you're willing to accept a little botanical drama. Females cut neat circular or oval pieces from leaves or petals and use them like wallpaper and insulation for their brood cells.

They usually nest in existing cavities rather than digging their own, which makes them great candidates for bee-friendly yards with appropriate habitat: dead stems, drilled wood blocks (properly maintained), or natural cracks and crevices. In summer, a busy Megachile female can turn a flower patch into an assembly line.

Solitary wasp

A solitary wasp has no colony of workers helping raise her young. A female may stock her own nest cells with food, or find a host for her developing offspring. Solitary describes social life; parasitoid describes a feeding strategy. A wasp can be both.

Social wasp

Social wasps share a nest and cooperate in raising young. In yellowjacket and paper wasp colonies, reproductive females lay eggs and workers help feed the brood and maintain the nest. They can defend that nest, so observing a forager is different from approaching a colony.

Non-native Social wasp

This is a social wasp introduced beyond its natural range. In this case the European paper wasp was introduced to North America from Europe, probably hidden in shipping materials. Non-native describes its origin, while social describes colony life.