#leafcutting bee

Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee - Megachile mendica (very likely)

If you thought that this blog ran out of novel and interesting Bees to cover, here's one more species to add to the catalogue. Looking at these images in retrospect, I really wish that at the time I was skilled enough to take photos which better highlight the front of this insect. While the rear and dorsal side of this side are well represented, a more comprehensive view of the head, face, mandibles, and antennae would have gone a long way in aiding with this inconspicuous Leafcutter Bee's identification. In particular for this species, as well as many other Bees in the genus Megachile, it has an array of hairs adorning its face, and although you can make out a lot of them across the images of this individual, a frontal view would've better showcased the hair's color, density and fineness. That also goes for the whitish rings of hair around this Bee's thorax. Such as it is when you're looking back at older images and you realize that this Bee may have continued to turn away in order to have a solid escape plan if the camera and its operator were to get too close. All kidding aside, that's a useful mindset for an insect to have if it lacks any immediately visible defenses to counter an approaching threat. For this particular individual, it will have to rely on strong flight and predators having a prior association of stings from the females, or other similar-looking Bees, as defensive measures, as it is actually a male Bee.

The best characteristics, or lack thereof, that inform us that this Bee is a male, rather than a female, are the shape and proportions of its abdomen. From the images that I've seen, female Flat-tailed Bees have an abdomen which bulges out a bit on the sides while also tapering to a defined tip towards the end, like a small Wasp. The aforementioned tip will have copious sensory hairs which are positioned upright. The male Bees by comparison, as can be gleamed from these images, have a broad and squared-off abdomen with a flattened rear end which lacks the upright hairs. Finally, there is one more key observation which also helps make the distinction between females and males of many other species of Leafcutter Bees too. The underside of a female Flat-tail Bee's abdomen always houses row upon row of golden scopae (hairs, plural of scopa) on the underside of their abdomen which transport and hold (with assistance from the legs) collected pollen and fibers during flights back to the nest. Although faint, an example of these hairs can be seen in this post featuring an Oblong Woolcarder Bee. Despite this insect's small size, the array of golden hairs would be easily visible. Especially given that all pictures here are of this Bee's backside. I suppose it was useful in the long run to photograph this behavior, though I would've still liked to share a frontal view here. In any case, since the male Bee's primary objectives are to stay healthy, and secure a mate, it doesn't need scopae. Meanwhile females make great use of them to carry materials back to their nest for egg provisioning and retaining warmth. Therefore, we find this male locking for pollen and nectar from these black-eyed susans (a popular choice for our yard's myriad pollinators).

Oblong Woolcarder Bee - Anthidium oblongatum

Now this was most expected! Previously when I found this specie of Bee, or others that appear similar to it, they were hovering around some flowers in attempt to drive away other pollinations from their "territory" through merciless charging. Alternatively, one might guess that this specie would find some suitable leaves for their nest (within a wooden cavity) among the plants that they missing and cut pieces out of them and turn them into nest furnishing. After all, this is a Leafcutting Bee! However, for this specie, today we get to observe the reality of the situation; members of the Anthidium genus don’t cut leaves to use as nesting materials. Instead, they collect something far more important and labor intensive. Look closely at the underside of this Bee and you'll notice that she's carrying something large beneath her. The object isn't an egg sac, and while that's not a behavior typically associated with Bees, that would be amazing to see in the wilderness. The mass carried beneath this Bee's underside is in fact, a collection of fibers and hairs that she has gathered from plants and rolled into a ball.

When the hardworking Bee has enough material gathered and rolled up, the ball will be brought back to the nest so that it can be made into lining for the nest and individual cells! The accepted term for the massed plant material is "vegetable wool", which is obtained from the Bee scraping it off of a plant's leaves or form using her mandibles. After it is detached, the fibers are collected and rolled into a ball; the process is known as "carding", hence the name, "Woolcarder Bee." This individual has amassed a large ball, and while large it can be easily held and transported thanks to the Bee's strong mandibles and legs. While it may not be apparent at first glance due to the size of the individual fibers, but they were indeed collected from the underside of the plant that this Bee was buzzing around. Looking at pictures 2, 4 and 5, the scraping and folding of fibers can be seen with a simple zoom in. Moreover, in Picture 1 it can be seen exactly where she shaved away the plant's fibers! What an industrious animal. Had I noticed the fluff ball being made while taking these pictures, I would've followed the Bee to her nest to see her construction process. That's a lesson for future observations of all manner of insects: pay attention to the insects that you find and also what activities occur throughout their day.

Sculptured Resin Bee - Megachile sculpturalis

A tip for when you hunt for bugs around your neighborhood: take note of the areas where insects tend to gather, particularly if the areas are home to specific or more “unique” insects. There may be something significant about that area that is advantageous for those insects to gather there, and thusly it’s very likely that you might see those insects again there, depending on the time of year, the weather and even surrounding plants. Ascertain as to why those insects may gather there, as this information can help when creating your own insect habitats and attract insects that you wish to see in your area. It’s also a good way to measure consistency year after year: if the insects don’t return, it’s wise to think on what has changed. There are specific sites around my neighborhood where specific insects gather in populous amounts due to the area’s conditions. One particular bed of flowers in the neighborhood brings legions of  Five-Banded Thynnid Wasps in the summer; the goldenrod flowers near the creek’s black locust trees always bring Locust Borers towards the end of summer; and one particular bed of flowers seems to be particularly alluring to this large specie of Leafcutting Bee. I’m beyond happy (and lucky) to have seen them again and I’ll be checking in on the flower bed again next year between mid July to mid August to see if they return then (although Bugguide mentions that the specie can be active from June to September). It will take some work from my part to get the timing just right to observe them. 

 Naturally, other pollinators like social Bees also frequent these flowers, so there’s always an opportunity for some photography and to observe the behaviors and habits of our Bee friends. If I find the Sculptured Resin Bees here again next year, perhaps it may be possible to track one back to its wooden nest. Aside from feeding themselves, pollen needs to be gathered for the young Bee larvae which will be a provision for them until the next year (they overwinter inside a hollow cavity) nest. Even if that’s not the case here, perhaps following these Bees may lead me to more flowers they obtain pollen from; the flowers here seem to be solely providing nectar to the feeding males. Perhaps female Resin Bees are found elsewhere on different flowers that are more suitable to their needs and the needs of their larvae? Perhaps of better nutrition or with a higher pollen load? My area of search will need to be expanded in order to find a conclusive answer. In any case, if you by chance discover one of these Bees, you can tell males and females apart by markings on their face and the shape of their abdomen. Female individuals have no patches on their face and an abdomen that tapers to a point which conceals a stinger. Other species of Megachile Resin Bees are reported to be able to sting multiple times without fail, but information for this specie is unclear. Males on the other hand have facial patches and a blocky abdomen, and since they lack a stinger are safe to handle. Having said that, since their jaws are designed to scrape resin and sap from trees, so it is best not to pester or restrain them or prod their face. 

European Woolcarder Bee - Anthidium manicatum

It’s not too often that one of these lovely insects is caught by my camera in midflight, but hey, makes for a great picture if you can snap a few. This particular individual has found a lovely cluster of small flowers to dive into and enjoy the nectar. So much so that (with a closer look at the pictures after the fact) this Bee thoroughly cleans its feet after landing before repositioning and going straight back in for another taste of flower. All this occurring in midflight mind you, with the Bee’s spiked mandibles doing all the hard work. While it’s funny to think about that the flower is just so “finger-licking” good that the Bee licks its “fingers”, the reality is more like the Bee needs to keep its legs and feet clean and free of interference so it can better interpret what it lands on. Sensory information is extremely important to insects and they need all their tools and systems functioning optimally at all times in order to navigate this large world. Especially when there are homes to line, flowers to visit and rivals to watch out for. You have to be quite resilient and resourceful when you are a specie of solitary Bee! Moreover, the Bees within the genus Anthidium need to keep their legs and claws clean since they’re needed to haul plant fiber balls back to their nest; contaminating them with organic matter may spoil them for storage or draw the attention of opportunistic pollen eaters. 

As a Leafcutting Bee, the foremost and latter are extremely important to females and males respectively, but in this case, this Bee seemed to be actively foraging instead with no bothers. With no other pollinators around, there’s no need to demonstrate aggression, and petals aren’t the best materials for a burrow when fibers of down-covered plants will do. If you want to attract them to your garden, down-covered plants like lamb’s ear and brighter flowers should do. As generalists, they aren’t too picky on choice. Creating wooden cavities would be a big help too as it gives them a home to decorate. Although Bees like this (especially the males) have a tendency to drive any other pollinating insects from their controlled territory, rest assured that the Bee as a whole is a good and effective pollinator. While they have those enlarged mandibles, they have the potential to bite but they aren’t carnivorous. That said, it might be best to plant more flowers around to give all your yard visitors a place to land, assuming there’s room. Finally, when it comes to North American Woolcarder Bees, here is my eternal reminder: remember that you can tell the difference between this specie of Bee and the Oblong Woolcarder (A. oblongatum) - from a photo - look at the wings and the wing-bases first. This specie has a dark-colored wing-base that continues up the side of the wing. That said, do not neglect the body, legs and eyes, for they also provide clues for identification!

Sculptured Resin Bee - Megachile sculpturalis

One more post for the day, and this is one that has been in the works for a long time. Truthfully, identifying this Bee has been a challenge ever since I was able to photograph it 2 years ago. While searching for what it could be, I had no exact matches for it within Canada, and nothing that was similar to it either. I initially had it pegged as a large species of Andrenid Bee, but with little confidence to that assessment, so I shelved the pictures until another idea came to mind. Years later, I owe thanks to my job for the inspiration for identifying this large Bee! The last few days, there had been a lot of talk of similarity at the office (as it relates to my job), and so I thought while revisiting these images, “What if I try searching for insects in Canada that are similar to this Bee to see if others have done the same?” Sure enough, dealing with the problem from a different angle did the trick. My search led me to Eastern Carpenter Bee’s page on Bugguide (thank you as well), and it was highlighted there that this large Bee and the Carpenter Bee are often mistaken for each other. At last! The similarity is also the reason behind the previous video post as well; I felt it best to showcase both of them. But why didn’t this specie of Bee appear conclusively in a wider search of Canada? As it turns out, this specie isn’t an Andrenid Bee or a Mining Bee, but rather it’s a specie of giant Leafcutting Bee (more specifically a Resin Bee) that came from Asia and has been gradually expanding its North American habitat range.

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a significant pest and largely keeps to itself, similar to Carpenter Bees and other Leafcutting Bees. In these images, a few individuals were found foraging at some flowers. Some of these individuals are males as indicated by the presence of yellow patches on their face, which further leads to confusion between them and Eastern Carpenter Bees. I sincerely hope these two don’t compete too heavily with each other for flowers and territory as they are quite similar (although Carpenters can form nesting areas with their sister Bees). In addition to their foraging, the female Resin Bees prepare cell-lined nests for their children using collected tree sap and resin that they place into wooden cavities. As Leafcutting Bees, they have large jaws that can are well equipped to cut and scrape wood, and also to collect and manipulate sap. This specie is crafty too, as they can conceal their nest’s entrance using resin or with scraps of wood. Moreover, they are reported to prefer using pre-excavated cavities, which seems reasonable due to the energy investment required to chew, and they aren’t well equipped to dig into wood. They finish building their nest by gathering provisions from flowers, pollen being most important. The females form it into a ball so that their Bee larva(e) with have food to eat immediately upon hatching. I’d wager also need to gather insulating materials since larva stage is the one that overwinters, while pupation occurs in the spring. It is only in the summer you’ll find them in their adult form if you’re lucky. Hopefully now you’ll be able to identify them on your first try rather than waiting 2 years as I did.

Oblong Woolcarder Bee - Anthidium oblongatum

This striped, flying insect had eluded me for quite some time now, but I finally have some pictures to share. I’d always notice that individuals were attracted to the lamb’s ear plants in the backyard, but whenever I would approach, they would fly off in a hurry! The specie was easily recognizable however, thanks to their black-and-yellow patterning (occasionally a bit of brown in there too) that appears somewhat atypical compared to other Bees, alongside a pair of green cloudy eyes. Now at last, with help from another house in the neighborhood, I can finally add these noteworthy Bees to the catalogue! Like other types of Bees, they are drawn to flowers for their nectar and pollen and are valued pollinators with the ecosystems. These little flowers also played host to Bumblebees, Carpenter Bees, Honeybees and even several types of Wasp. However, compared to the aforementioned Bees, these Bees hoard their pollen on the underside of their abdomen rather than store them in pollen baskets usually found on the hindlegs.

Along with pollination, the Oblong Woolcarder Bee has a strong preference for Lamb’s Ear and other fibrous plants, but not to eat their leaves. Rather, this insect scrapes the leaves of such plants and collects the soft fibers for its own personal use. Specifically, they are used to line its nest for comfort and warmth and create individual cells. Alhough they belong to a family of Bees known commonly as Leafcutting Bees - Megachilidae, members of the Anthidium genus don’t cut leaves to use for their nest. Instead, the long and sharp mandibles that are normally used to cut those leaves are used to rake plant fibers along a leaf’s surface, and are also used in aggression and defense. While no injuries took place on observance, a few Bees (of all types, not just fellow Leaf-Cutters) were attacked and driven off from the flowers by a dive-bombing Woolcarder Bee. This tactic is commonly used by large males to control territory, and while small, they can charge with ferocity and tremendous speed! That said, the males are stingless; only female Bees sting, but as the two look similar in this specie, its better to observe before trying to handle one.

For identifcation: A. oblongatum can be confused with A. manicatum, the Common/European Wool Carder. To distinguish the two, the best place to start looking is the Bee’s tegulae (the solid part where the wing attaches to the body): A. oblongatum has orange tegulae while A. maculatum has black tegulae. Zoom in on these images to get a closer look of what colors to look for.

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