Providing Leaves for Leafcutter Bees

Providing Leaves for Leafcutter Bees

What kind of leaves do leafcutter bees like?

In the summer, female leafcutter bees protect each nesting chamber with a protective shell of cut leaf pieces.

  1. If leafcutter bees can't find the right kind of leaves nearby their bee house, they won't nest and will fly away. These bees are after their habit of cutting small oval or circular bits out of leaves to carry home to their nest.
  2. Female leafcutter bees use their large mandibles (jaws) to cut leaves and they are looking for a leaf that is pliable, which means the leaf is not too hard and not too soft (spinach and lettuce leaves are too watery). 
  3. Do the cuts cause damage to plants? No, leafcutter bees are only gathering leaf bits from deciduous leaves and they typically gather from the edges of leaves. 
  4. Learn how to ensure a leaf source in your garden or yard and add them if they are missing.

1. Existing Leaf Sources
Take a look at the plants that are growing within about 30 feet of your bee house. Leafcutter bees are small and prefer to gather leaves close to their bee house. Check to see if your plants match the list at the bottom of this article.

2. Add Easy-to-Grow Leaf Sources
If leaves are missing from your garden, add these easy to raise plants near your bee house. 
  1. Plant peas, beans, or smooth-leaved strawberry 4-6 weeks ahead of your leafcutter bee arrival.
  2. Need a last-minute leaf source? Add pansy, viola, rose, hosta, or lilac plants.
List of Leaves that Leafcutter Bees Gather:
  1. Rose
  2. Lilac
  3. Hosta
  4. Bougainvillea
  5. Peas
  6. Beans
  7. Strawberry (smooth, not hairy)
  8. Pansy
  9. Viola
  10. Buckwheat
  11. False indigo
  12. Redbud Trees
There are plenty of other plants that leafcutter bees will use and this list is a good starting point for ensuring that you offer the right kind of leaves for leafcutter bees.

Will leafcutter bees damage my plants?

Surprisingly, plants have evolved to support our insect populations including nesting leafcutter bees.  You may find a small circular cut here and there in your yard's leaves, but it has little effect on a plant's health.

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