Hard Working Lady

  Mark joined me on a hike about the hillside this afternoon.  It is always better when he is along!  Son and I had almost finished mowing and I was anxious to relax a bit.  My hikes include hunting for "hidden critters" to include in the "Find the Critter on the Bayou" game that I started for the Grandlittles.  Sometimes these critters are so well hidden that I have trouble spotting them to get their picture.  We were coming to the end of our hike when I spied a skink on an old log.  Not exactly too well camouflaged but a pretty guy all the same.  The picture-taking started and I became oblivious to all around me.  I have a tendency to become fully focused on the critter in front of the lens and forget all else.  If it had not been for Mark, I would not have even seen the lovely little lady that was busily working not too far from me.

  A Leafcutter Bee was working herself to a frazzle on the possum grape leaves that draped over a dead tree that had fallen.  The photography opportunity shifted from lizard to bee.  We watched as the small black bee cut a perfect circle out of the grape leave then hightail it back to her nest.  She had a lot of work to do and had no time for lollygagging about for the paparazzi.  It made me happy to see the Leafcutter Bee busying herself in the yard.  They are good bees to have as they pollinate the plants for us.  Sure, they cut holes in the leaves but other than making an unsightly mess of things, they do a service by being even better pollinators than Honeybees.  When Leafcutter Bees carry pollen back to their nests, they carry it dry which allows more pollination. The pollen blows around and lands on lots of flowers where as Honeybees carry "wet" pollen.  

  The Leafcutter bee is a pretty docile bee.  She has no time to go around stinging folks just because they happen to get too near.  Leafcutter Bees are considered to be solitary bees as they do not make hives and live communally.  Each female is a queen and does all of the work required to raise the next brood.  She cuts all of the leaves needed to make the nest, lays the eggs and gathers the pollen to pack in the nest for the next generation. The larvae will have plenty to eat when they hatch from the eggs.  She is just far too busy to be defensive even of her nest.  This makes Leafcutter Bees the perfect bee for "bee houses".  Perhaps this will be the next project for the garden. I believe that the Grandlittles would love to observe the bees at work and not having to worry about bee stings should make their mom happy as well.  Wait until I tell Son that I need him to build me a bee house!  I can only imagine the look I will receive.