Leaf-cutter bees

As you potter about the garden, you might spot some foliage, particularly on roses, with almost circular holes in it.

If the neat cuts in the leaves of your plant look as if they were snipped with sharp nail scissors, this could be due to a female leaf-cutter bee. She will have carried that circle of leaf to a hole and made a nest for her larva.

The tiny nest, in a hollow stem, wall or fence cavity, or even a hole in the earth, accommodates just one egg, protected in a leafy thimble-like cell, with a sealing plug. Several can be lined up in one tube. Once you know what’s damaged your rose leaves, your interest might be piqued and if you’re ever lucky enough to see a bee flying off with her piece of leaf you will marvel at her strength.

During summer, the eggs hatch into larvae and finally pupate over winter to hatch as adults next year. Even if you’re not impressed by her industry, you should value her pollination activity. She supplies a blob of pollen and nectar for each nest, pollinating many flowers and crops as she collects this food.

Emma Crawforth, Gardening Editor