Good Bugs . . .

Do your rose leaves look like this? If so, you have been chosen by a leaf-cutter bee to help line her nest! The bees nest in soft, rotted wood or in the stems of large, pithy plants, such as roses (but are non-damaging). These bees are native to the U.S. and are important pollinators. They are non-aggressive and have a mild sting that is used only when they are handled.

Leaf-cutter bees are solitary bees, unlike regular honey bees that live in a hive with many other bees. The females dig out their nesting areas, creating nest cells, and provide their young with food. She may live two months and lay 35 to 40 eggs during this time. The bee cuts a circle or oval out of certain leaves, often times roses, and will line the cells of her nest with these leaf pieces. She adds a mixture of nectar and pollen, and then lays an egg in each cell. The young bees will develop in these cells, and will eat the nectar and pollen that was deposited with the egg. The new young bees will emerge the next season.

Each year, for many years, I have been visited by leaf-cutter bees. I never saw them, but they left their signature holes in a few of the leaves of my Mr. Lincoln rose. I loved it, and I felt honored somehow. I now realize it might not happen again, because Mr. Lincoln was taken out last winter so a fruit tree could be put in it's place. I may have to buy another Mr. Lincoln!