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flat-tailed leafcutter bee
flat-tailed leafcutter bee (Megachile mendica)
Illinois Status: common, native
Photo © Rob Curtis, The Early Birder
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
The female of this species is about one-third to one-half inch in length, while the male is slightly smaller. White hairs are abundant on the female’s head. Hairs on the male’s head are yellow-white. Like all bees, they have a thick body with the division between the thorax and abdomen easily seen, four wings, hairs, stocky legs, long antennae and eyes on the side of the head.
BEHAVIORS
This species is found statewide. Leafcutter bees paper their nest with pieces of leaves. These are solitary bees with huge jaws that nest in the soil. These bees are active from April through September. The pollen-collecting hairs on leafcutting bees are on the underside of the abdomen, not on the legs, as is the case in most other bees.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Megachilidae
Habitats
Aquatic Habitats
bottomland forests; marshes; peatlands; swamps; wet prairies and fens
Woodland Habitats
bottomland forests; southern Illinois lowlands; upland deciduous forests
Prairie and Edge Habitats
black soil prairie; dolomite prairie; edge; gravel prairie; hill prairie; sand prairie; shrub prairie
