No ordinary nest

Ever noticed neat crescent-shaped holes on your leaves? It’s most likely the Leaf Cutter bee

- Jean Cheadle

Hampshire is home to no less than six species of Leaf Cutter bees, a lesser-known but common group of bees, known for cutting small discs out of leaves. The removal of small sections of leaf doesn’t hurt the plant, so gardeners needn’t worry – in fact, Leaf Cutter bees are valuable pollinators.

Leaf Cutter bees look quite like Honey bees but behave very differently, living solitary lives and building incredible nests in deadwood, stems, or even in bare ground.