Navigation
Content
Footer

Block title

Main Navigation Menu:

About Us
- Staff
- Lab
- Employment
- Transportation Grants
- Education
- Visit Us
- Mammal List
- Bird List
- Waivers
Live Cameras
- Trail Cameras
- Live Video
Photos
Videos
- MPG Conference Videos
Research
- Published Papers
Field Notes
Dispatches
Maps
- Habitat Restoration
- Raptor Tracker

What would you like to learn about?

Leafcutters and Masons: Bees in the Megachilidae

You are here:

Home
Research
Leafcutters and Masons: Bees in the Megachilidae

Block title

Leafcutters and Masons: Bees in the Megachilidae

April 8, 2019

Bees in the Megachilidae family are found throughout the entire growing season, and across every habitat at MPG Ranch.

040119_MK-1.jpg

Wild bergamont flowers (Mondarda fistulosa) dwarf a tiny member of the Megachilidae.

040119_MK-2.jpg

Osmia montana, which specializes on flowers in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), is the most abundant mason bee in the genus Osmia found at MPG Ranch.

040119_MK_V2-3.jpg

Osmia are medium-sized, spring-flying bees. They have sparse hairs on their heads and thoraxes, and are dark-colored - usually black, bluish, or metallic green or blue.

040119_MK-4.jpg

The genus Osmia contains specialist and generalist species. Of the specialists, some may forage on a single family or even genus of plant, others may specialize on two or more plant familie

040119_MK-5.jpg

MK photo A brilliant green Osmia visits non-native white clover (Trifolium repens). Traditional grass lawns are unsuitable habitat for native bees and deprive them of food and nesting resources.

040119_MK_V2-6.jpg

This Hoplitis mason bee makes use of a garden lavender at my house in the Sapphire Mountains.

040119_MK_V2-7.jpg

Several small-to-tiny bees in the Megachilidae genera Ashmeadiella, Hoplitis, Chelostoma, and Heriades, can be difficult to differentiate in the field.

040119_MK-8.jpg

The leafcutters in the genus Megachile are medium-sized bees common later in summer. Female leafcutters use their huge mandibles to clip circular pieces of leaves or petals, which they use to line their nests

https://www.facebook.com/MPGWildlife/videos/338944930173111/

040119_MK-9.jpg

Male leafcutter bees (genus Megachile) often have long, light-colored hairs on their front legs, and have a blunt-looking, rounded-off abdomen.

040119_MK_V2-10.jpg

Megachile leafcutter bees are solitary nesters, meaning they do not share a nest with others, but they may nest in “aggregations” – in close proximity to other bee nests of the same species.

040119_MK_V3-11.jpg

Bees in the genus Dianthidium (below) are often mistaken for wasps due to their striking black and yellow color patterning and relative hairlessness.

040119_MK-12.jpg

Not all bees collect pollen and construct nests for their offspring. Cuckoo bees are kleptoparasites – they lay their eggs in the nests of other bees

040119_MK-13.jpg

List of bee species in the Megachilidae found at MPG Ranch

Related Research Reports

Outreach and Education Report

June 28th, 2022

By: Joshua Lisbon, Mike McTee and Craig Jourdonnais

The effect of plant invasion on soil microbial carbon-use efficiency in semi-arid grasslands of the Rocky Mountain West

January 3rd, 2022

By: Ylva Lekberg and Lorinda Bullington

2020 Woody Draw Songbird Research Report

January 29th, 2021

By: Anna Noson and Tricia Rodriguez

Related Dispatches

Lead Ammo: Frequently Asked Questions

September 5th, 2023

Rethinking Lead

March 27th, 2023

Related Photo Galleries

Jeff Clarke - Best of 2022

Block title

About Us
- Staff
- Lab
- Employment
- Transportation Grants
- Education
- Visit Us
- Mammal List
- Bird List
- Waivers
Live Cameras
- Trail Cameras
- Live Video
Photos
Videos
- MPG Conference Videos
Research
- Published Papers
Field Notes
Dispatches
Maps
- Habitat Restoration
- Raptor Tracker

Protecting open space for future generations

Facebook