Leafcutter Bees on Their Flying Carpets!

Several weeks ago, I noticed signs of Leafcutter Bees in my backyard. If you see circular shapes cut from leaves, they are likely made by Leafcutter Bees. The leaf pieces are rolled into a tube shape for this solitary nesting species. Each tube is sealed at one end and is used to house one egg and the food the youngster will require after hatching.

On Friday morning, I watched a Leafcutter Bee "fly on her green magic carpet" while carrying a leaf piece into a cavity in my backyard garden. Inside the cavity, she will form a nursery cell for one of her offspring. I watched her enter 6 times before I couldn't sit cross-legged on the ground any longer. 😉 The following 3 pics show entry into the cavity area.

Leafcutter bees are valued pollinators. There may be up to 15 rolled leaves in a cavity. The eggs hatch in about a week and the larva eat the pollen and nectar left by the parents. They will "over winter" in a pupa, emerging as an adult the following spring. 

https://wildpollinators-pollinisateurssauvages.ca/2018/07/01/leafcutter-bees/

Turtle Laying Eggs:

Saturday morning Deryl found a Red-eared Slider laying eggs beside a path in Canatara Park. This invasive species is sold in pet stores and is unfortunately released into natural waterways when the owners no longer wish to care for them. Nevertheless, still neat to watch the eggs being laid! Look carefully below the tail to watch the egg drop.

   

It typically takes 2 months (temperature dependent) before the eggs will hatch, IF they aren't eaten by predators such as raccoons, mink, etc. Reptiles do not care for their young after the eggs are laid.