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

Blue Banded Bee: Amegilla cingulata

Blue Banded Bee: Amegilla cingulata
in flight

Blue Banded Bee: Amegilla cingulata
in flight

Location: South West, Western Australia

Season: Summer, December/January

Order: Hymenoptera 

Family: Apidae 

Tribe: Anthophorini 

Genus: Amegilla 

Amegilla cingulata

Blue Banded Bee is an iconic Australian Native Bee. It is easily identified by the pale blue bands on the abdomen. The thorax is covered in golden hairs. They have large eyes which are milky green. They can sting but not aggressive. The males have 5 complete bands on their abdomen, while females have 4 complete bands. Unlike other bees, these are solitary bees: they don't have queen, workers, drones, they don't live in hives or in a colony. The males 'roost' together on plants while females collect pollen and dig burrows to rest in them. When the female lays her egg, she stores it in a single nest cell with pollen and nectar to feed the larva. The larva emerges as adult in warm weather. 

They dart and hover in flight with buzzing which gets more intense as it approaches an object.

They are attracted to blue coloured objects. I have witnessed a Blue Banded Bee repeatedly hover around and investigate a piece of blue plastic lying in the garden. This great photo opp was missed by the lack of a camera at hand. They are attracted to flowers of other colours too.

The importance of these native bees for crops is the way in which they pollinate the flowers. These bees, in order to obtain pollen from the flowers, buzz very close to the flower. The resonant vibration dislodges the pollen. This is called Buzz Pollination. It is very effective in crops of solanacae family like tomatoes. 

This bee's predators are cuckoo bees and man in the form of urban development and loss of habitat. Some people build 'Bee Hotels' providing a place for the bees to rest and have the cell nests. The European Bee which is not native to Australia is a stronger forager than the native bee which could cause competition in small areas with less food.

Female digging a burrow
note the 5th ring on the abdomen is incomplete

Male Bees Roosting. One of them is of a different species which makes me think it is a Teddy Bear Bee.

Reference: Australian Museum

Aussie Bee 

Info on Native Bees