Bees come in many shapes and sizes. There are over 250 different types in the UK alone, from the familiar honeybee and bumblebee to the not so familiar, like the leaf cutter bee.
A couple of days ago I was in the utility room, when I noticed a bee fly into the fold of a newspaper.
After watching for a few minutes, I saw the bee make repeated journeys, with small pieces of vegetation in tow.
A few more flights later and I caught her on camera.
A leaf cutter bee was taking up residence.
I carefully opened the paper to see this amazing tubular nest.
I left her in peace for the night, with the back door open so that she could fly early in the morning.
By the time I got up, the nest was sealed and she was away to find her next site.
i couldn’t leave the paper on the shelf, so I carefully cut the edge of the paper off and placed it inside an (unoccupied) nest box hanging in one of our trees.
If all goes well, in a couple of weeks the new bee should be emerging and ready to go on to pollinate, and build more nests.
Bees are truly amazing insects. We couldn’t do without them and should do all we can to help protect them.