Re: Leaf-Cutter Bees and Idiot Californian Gardeners

In a message dated 12/30/98 6:14:48 AM EST, dave-poole@ilsham.demon.co.uk
writes:

<< Ahem.....
 In the UK at least, leaf cutting bees use the portions of leaf to line
 a small tube-like burrow.  These are 'pasted together' with wax and
 the tube filled with honey.  A single egg is laid, the mouth of the
 tube sealed either with a neatly rounded piece of leaf or more
 commonly, a cap of wax.  The resultant lava then feeds upon the honey.
 The leaf lining provides a comparatively secure place for the larva to
 develop and prevents the nectar from drying up before it has been
 consumed.   >>

Dave:

Thanks for the information.  Here in California, leaf cutting bees do exactly
what I want them to until someone comes along who knows more about it than I
do.  I'm apt to say just any old thing, apparently.  I delivered that line
with such authority, too, didn't I?  The funny thing is, I actually remember
the sixties.  What I meant to say was, if I were a leaf cutting bee, I'd make
the kids eat the damn leaves!  According to my Audubon Society Field Guide to
North American Insects and Spiders, both North American species of leaf
cutting bee are native to California.  "The females dig a slanting, curved
burrow into a hillside.  Leaf fragments are used to construct brood cells.
Cells are filled with pollen and nectar, then 1 egg is left in each."  Here,
as in the northwest of England, they seem to prefer rose leaves.  In future,
I'll either try to corroborate my faulty memory with something a little more
authoritative, or I'll be a little more tentative in my opinions.  Thanks,
friend.

Kurt Mize
Stockton, California
USDA Zone 9
"Where the bees eat leaves"
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