I have recently acquired a block of mason bee tubes that are partially capped with mud and some of the holes are capped with leaf material. The person that I got them from said that the holes capped with leafy material are occupied by "leaf cutters" and also do pollinating but come out later in the season. Is there anything undesirable about these bees?
Leafcutter bees are usually smaller than mason bees but will use the larger nesting holes for msaon bees. Leaf cutter bees start emerging in June. They need about 3 weeks of warm weather to develop from pupa to adults, and when they do emerge, temperatures have to be above 70F for flying and foraging. These are warm weather pollinators! There are many native leafcutter bees, although the most common is the Russian leafcutter bee which is used commercially for pollinating alfalfa.
Idyllwild
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
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