I do love a Leaf-Cutter Bee, but the one I saw the other day was extra special.
Leaf-Cutter Bees are solitary bees who lay their eggs in leaf-lined nests which they build themselves.
They look for a suitable hole & then focus all their attention on cutting & collecting leaves which they line the hole with, creating a tube-like structure.
An egg is laid inside & the hole is capped with one or two more leaves. They even produce their own special glue-like substance to stick it all together.
Insects are like little machines, designed to work in a specific way. They are programmed to do what they do & they just... well.. do it! However, I believe that my little leaf-cutter bee may have been created with a slight malfunction (or maybe she just needs practice).
Standing in the garden, I heard a buzzing sound, but not like a bee just buzzed past - more like a bee had got stuck somewhere. I turned to look and found this little bee trying in vain to squeeze into one of the many accommodating holes in my insect box with a piece of leaf held between her legs under her body.
Usually a bit of forceful shoving gets a leaf into the right position, but this little lady had obviously been having trouble. All around her were beautifully cut pieces of leaf caught in the cobwebs at the front of the box. This issue was not new to her - she'd been here sometime!
I watched for a while. She pushed & shoved and eventually got it into the hole, but she wasn't happy. As she flew out she stuck her head in a few other holes, probably to check them out as suitable alternatives. Eventually she buzzed off & when I came back later the hole was half lined as it had been when I had last been there. There were more leaves stuck in the cobwebs though, so she hadn't given up easily, but it was looking unlikely that she'd persevered.
Even though I truly felt sorry for her, I must admit it did keep me amused for a while. She stood out for me as an individual - and that's not common in the bee world. Poor little thing - I hope she found her perfect hole!
