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Willughby's Leafcutter Bee

Megachile willughbiella

Basic Information

Common name: Willughby's Leafcutter Bee
Scientific name: Megachile willughbiella

Bronze 'halo', females have orange underside, males have white 'flares'

A common Leafcutter - seen in gardens.

Classification

Bee TypeSolitary
StatusCommon
Cuckoo StatusNon-cuckoo
DistributionWidespread
Tail ColourBlack Tail

Keynotes

  • Circles cut from leaves indicate these bees

  • Abdomen upturned and visible when foraging - and can look yellow if covered in pollen

  • Males patrol flowers and hedges, driving other insects away

  • Use bee hotels - overwinter as larva

Nest Information

  • Sunny sheltered spots, in dead wood, soil, plant pots, hollow stems, walls

  • Use leaves to make nest cells

  • Fly: May - August

Distribution

  • All across UK, more common as you move south, localised in Scotland

  • Habitat: gardens, brownfield, agricultural land, urban sites

Castes

MALE

May
No Diagram
No Photo

  1. Fluffy bronze hair

  2. Black, bronze 'halo'

  3. Black, faint stripes

  4. Black

  5. White leg hairs

Tail:Black Tail
Thorax:All Black
Abdomen:All Black
Head:Black Head

FEMALE

No Diagram
No Photo

  1. Fluffy bronze hair

  2. Black, bronze 'halo'

  3. Black, faint stripes, orange underside

  4. Black

Tail:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Head:

Flower Preferences

Long tongue. Like bellflowers.

  • dead- nettles

  • primroses

  • thistles

  • brambles

  • vetches

  • knapweed

🌼

Bellflowers

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Everlasting peas

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Willowherb