Megachile leaf cuts

You can help us learn about the plants that bees are using to make their nests by taking pictures of the cuts that leafcutter bees make in plant leaves and uploading them to the Megachile bee leaf cuts iNaturalist project. To submit observations, you will first need to create an account on iNaturalist. After you have created an account, click on “Projects” at the top of the page and search for “Megachile bee leaf cuts” to submit your observations. 

Leafcutter bees make unique cuts in leaves. The cuts are either oval or round with smooth, regular edges - oval pieces are used to wrap each cell in the nest, and round pieces are used to make walls between cells and plug the entrance of the nest. The bee always starts the cut at the edge of the leaf, and there are often many cuts on one plant. They can be found on many different kinds of trees, shrubs, vines, and forbs.

Leafcutter bees are most active in midsummer - you can start to find leaf cuts in mid-June, but the cut leaves are still visible later in the season after the bees are finished nesting. If you find fresh leaf cuts, you can watch the plant and may see a leafcutter bee returning for another piece!