A variety of solitary pollinators is good to have in the garden, generally. Leafcutter bees and mason bees thrive together peacefully, and although they work in the same department (pollination), they work a bit differently, and the alfalfa leafcutter will pollinate later in the season.
Simply hang it on a wall from its stainless steel hook, preferably facing East or South, in a sunny spot where the box will be sheltered. An ideal location is on a wall that will receive morning sunlight.
Unable to burrow nests for their young, Leafcutter Bees usually nest in abandoned beetle burrows in dead logs. They have been shown to prefer smooth 1/4” holes, which I mimic using extra-sharp tools to cut the holes.
Upon selecting a nest cavity, the female Leafcutter Bee starts collecting leaf bits to build an initial partition at the far end of the nest cavity. Fascinating to watch, like a tiny electric can opener, the female leafcutter uses her mandibles to cut nearly perfect semicircular pieces from smooth, lightweight leaves to create cells and line her nests.
Once this partition is ready, she goes out to collect pollen to provide food for the eggs she will lay in a linear fashion from the bottom of the cavity, leaf, pollen, egg, leaf, pollen, egg until the cavity is nearly filled. The final layer is always a heavier deposit of chewed leaves, to protect her growing babies from harm. The following spring, the fresh bees emerge, to start the cycle all over again, collecting pollen, and pollinating your garden at the same time.
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Andrew
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