Lacy Silhouettes!

   Earlier this week, I was out harvesting some crape myrtle leaves to make powder for tonics.  The trees need to be cut back anyway as they bloom much better after being pruned.  Long branches were cut and then the leaves stripped for drying.  Afterward, the leaves were ground to fine powder for storage.  This is all part of a foraging for tisanes for the winter months.

  It was while snipping the branches that I began to notice that I was not alone in my work.  Another harvester was busy at the same trees!  A Leafcutter Bee was working her way from leaf to leaf cutting the most perfectly round holes in each one.  As soon as she cut a circle, she was off to the "bee hotel" hanging on the arbor.  I had to stop and admire her work!  Once she moved on to another branch, I pruned the one she left and took photos.  

  As I was laying the branch on a board, I noticed the interesting silhouettes the sun was creating with the leaves.  The shadows had such an interesting pattern!  I was photographing the branch to show the bee's precision in cutting circles but her handiwork was better seen through the silhouettes.  I only wish I had the camera while the bee was in action.

  The Leafcutter Bee is a solitary bee that is non-aggressive and is about the size of a honeybee.  The female cuts circles from leaves to line her nest and then packs it full of pollen before laying a single egg in each "cell".  She will create another cell in front of the first and so on...sometimes up to a dozen cells.  There is some thought that the leaf-wrapping protects the pollen until the egg hatches.  Then larvae hatch and feed upon the pollen.  They do not eat the leaves, however.

  The holes in leaves bother some folks but to me, it shows that the garden is actually healthy.  If bees are busying themselves in the plants, they are pollinating each and every one as they go.  Besides!  All of those lacy leaves are sort of pretty, in their own right, and the plants are none the worse for wear. Let the bees enjoy the garden and their efforts do nothing but help us.  Save the bees!

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.  

The Bee Post

  The posts on the pier each have several holes drilled all the way through to the other side.  These were at one time used as bolt holes when the posts were used at a harbor.  Now that the posts hold our pier, the holes sit empty...most of the time.  During the late fall, woodpeckers fill the holes with acorns and then at other times, spiders use the holes as hiding spots.  Yesterday, I noticed a bee fly to one post and crawl inside such a hole.  I pondered just what the bee was doing so I eased over to watch a bit closer.  The bee would disappear towards the shoreline for about ten minutes then be back at the post.  Each trip saw it carrying a tidbit of a leaf.  The bee was making a nice nest in the hole and was lining it with scraps of leaves.

  These bees are a type commonly called Leafcutter Bees...imagine that! The female works hard to cut leaves to line her nest before she lays a single egg inside the tunnel.  While that is miraculous enough in itself, the fact that she also carries pollen is pretty extreme. The pollen that she collects is packed into the nest and then she lays a single egg before sealing the tunnel.  Once the egg hatches, the larvae feasts upon the foodstuffs, grows, moults and then weaves a cocoon.  There it pupates until it comes time for it to emerge as an adult.  The whole life of a female Leafcutter Bee is spent making nests and gathering pollen.  Life goes on.

  We normally think that only Honeybees collect pollen but in reality, a myriad of other bees do as well.  The Leafcutter Bee actually makes more trips to carry pollen than any other bee.  The bee sort of "swims" in the bloom making it release more pollen.  Then, since the pollen is "dry-carried", it is more easily dusted onto other blooms.  This increases pollination and makes the bee highly beneficial to gardeners. 

  I watched the little busy bee as she made trip after trip from shore to post.  Her aim was to create a nice snug nest that was far out of the way of many predators.  Smart thinking, Little Bee!