Leafcutter Bee: Megachile chrysopyga

Leafcutter Bee
Megachile chrysopyga

Leafcutter Bee at work!
Notice the neat circular cuttings on the leaves

Location: Bunbury, Western Australia

Season: Summer, December

Order: Hymenoptera 

Family: Megachilidae 

Genus: Megachile 

Megachile chrysopyga

Leafcutter Bees belong to Megachilidae, a family of Australian Native Bees. The one found in my garden is M. chrysopyga. It is black in colour and relatively hairless. The circular white markings on the abdomen is prominent. The tip of the abdomen is golden yellow and the ventral side of the abdomen is pale yellow. There is a tuft of golden yellow hair on its head around the antennae. The golden colour shines brilliantly in the sunlight.

Leafcutter bees are solitary bees and don't live in groups. The female forms a 'lodge' in which she lays her egg and feeds her larva with nectar and pollen that she collects underside of her abdomen. She cuts leaves to line her nests. It is a spectacle to watch these bees at work. They quickly cut precise circles out of the leaves using their strong mouth parts. They carry the cut leaf, one at a time into their nests. They make little 'flying carpets' out of the cut leaves and fly away with them as if they are sitting on the leaf!

Reference: Aussie bee