Black and White Leafcutter Bee - Lithurgus sp.

Family MEGACHILIDAE

This page contains pictures and information about Black and White Leafcutter Bees that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Body length 15mm

We sometimes find this Leafcutter Bee on flower during summer. The bee has a relatively flat body. Its thorax and head are hairy.



The top of abdomen is smooth, with white and black striped colour. The abdomen bottom is bright yellow in colour.



Leafcutter Bees are important pollinators of flower plants.



Leafcutter Bees are solitary bees, they do not form colony as honey bees. Individual female builds her own nest in soft rotted wood, existing wood tunnels, tunnels in ground or under stone (depend on species).



Sometimes we find circular holes in soft-leaved plants, these are made by the female Leafcutter Bees which use the leaf to build their nests. The cut leaves are use to form nest cell.

Reference:
1. Native Bees of the Sydney region, a field guide - Anne Dollin, Michael Batley, Martyn Robinson & Brian Faulkner, Australian Native Bee Research Centre. P49.
2. Leafcutter Bee Fact File - Wild Life of Sydney, Australian Museum 2008.
3. Leafcutter Bee (genus Megachile) - Aussie Bee, Australian Native Bee Research Centre, 2005.
4. Leafcutter Bee, cutting a leaf - M Bulbert, Australian Museum, 2009.
5. Northern Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.