Megachile

Genus Megachile

All of the Leaf-cutter bees in the Salish Sea belong to the geographically widespread, morphologically diverse genus Megachile, or to the cuckoo-bee genus Coelioxys. Ten species of Megachile have been recorded thus far in the San Juan and Gulf Islands. Leaf-cutter bees can often be seen flying with rounds of freshly cut green leaves clasped in their mandibles. When laden with pollen, moreover, the pad of dense setae on the undersides of their abdomen can be a bright yellow to orange.

These modest sized bees may tussle with each other and smaller bees over flowers. They dig solitary ground nests, and seem to prefer large composite yellow flowers, as well as native and non-native thistles.