At the Haverton Viewpoint, there is a small hole on top of one of the sleepers forming the seats. Within this hole, a few Leaf-cutter Bees are excavating further holes within the wood and making nests with small semicircles of leaf they have cut with their large jaws. They roll the leaf bits into sausages and carry them into the nest chambers to make a cosy egg laying site. Mark Walpole, one of our Saltholme Guides, managed to get this picture on Sunday of a Bee entering the hole.
The Larvae is provisioned with food in the form of nectar and pollen, and then the parent seals up the Sausage crib with another cut leaf disc. The new bee emerges from the hole next spring. You can often see where Leaf-cutter Bees have been at work in gardens as they are particularly fond of roses, leaving them with little circular holes in the leaves.
In America, research has shown that one Leaf-cutter Bee can do the job of 20 Honey Bees in pollinating agricultural plants, so they are very important to us. In parts of Europe, some species line their nests with petals instead of cut leaves. Everyone say Ahhhhhhh.