Thealfalfaleafcuttingbee(Megachilerotundata)isasolitarybeethatmakesitsnestsinpreexistingholes.Unlikethehoneybee,theleafcuttingbeehasnoqueenordivisionoflabor.
Theleafcuttingbeeissmallerthanthehoneybee,about3/8''inlength.Eachbeefendsforitselfthoughtheyaregregarious.Thefemalesuseleafpiecesthattheycutwiththeirsharpmandiblestolinetheirnests.Thebeescollectpollenandnectarandpackitintoadoughyballintowhichtheylaytheireggs.Whilehoneybeesloadpollenontotheirhindlegs,theleafcuttingbeesbrushthepollenontotheundersideoftheirabdomenwherestiffhairsholdthepollen.Inthelifecycleofthealfalfaleafcuttingbeethereistypicallyonegenerationperyear,butcanhavetwoorthreegenerationsinwarmerclimates,suchasinCalifornia.Theleafcuttingbeeoverwintersasamaturelarvainsideacocoonmadeofsilkandcoveredinleafpieces.
Leafcuttingbeecellsandblocksduringincubation.
Inthespringthecocoonsneedtobeincubatedinorderforadultstoemergeattherighttime.Ittakesapproximately21daysat30oC(86oF)foradultstoemerge.Thebeescanbeincubatedthenestingmaterialwheretheyweredepositedortheycanbestrippedfromtheirholesandincubatedasloosecells.Whenthebeesarereadytoemergefromtheircells,theyaretakentorfieldandreleased.Nestsneedtobeprotectedfromdirectsunlightandrain.WoodorStyrofoamnestsareacceptedreadily.Manyholesizeswillalsobeacceptedbutholesthatarebetween2.5to4inchesdeepand0.25inchindiameterwillprovideoptimalnesting.Foralfalfaseed,beesarestockedattherateof2to5gallons(20,000to50,000bees)peracre.Becauseonlyabout30%ofthebeesarefemale,thisequatesto6,000to15,000femalesperacre.
ALeafcuttingBeeShelterinCalifornia.
Theleafcuttingbeefemalehasastingerandwilluseittodefendherself.However,theleafcuttingbeeisnotaggressiveanddoesnotdefenditshome,asthehoneybeedoes.Thestingofaleafcuttingbeeisabouthalfaspainfulasahoneybeesandtheydonotleaveastingerbehind.Unlikehoneybees,leafcuttingbeesdonotdieafterstinging.Noprotectiveclothingisneededwhenworkingwithleafcuttingbeesandthesheltersdonotposeanythreattothepublic,evenwhenplacednearhomes.
Leafcuttingbeenests.?Eachdotisafemalebee.湖北天马养蜂场，加我们的微信一起学养蜂。
Leafcuttingbeesheltersmaybemovedduringthenestingperiodbutmovesshouldbedoneatnightwhenallthebeesaresafelyrestingintheirholes.Movesshouldalsobeleast1/4mile,otherwisethebeesmayflybacktotheoriginalsiteoftheshelter.Theadultsliveforabout6weeks.Oncetheflightactivityhasdiminished,thenestboardsmayberemovedfromthefieldandstored.Thecocoonsshouldthenberefrigeratedoverthewintereitherlooseorinsidethenestingboards.
Thealfalfaleafcuttingbeemayalsobeusedtopollinatesomevegetableseedcropsincages.Testshaveshowngoodpollinationresultsinbothonionandcarrotseed.