Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Leaf-cutters

Megachile genus leaf-cutter bees cut out circles of leaves to line their nests.

Here’s some more detail on this.

Another characteristic of this huge genus is that they carry pollen on the underside of their abdomen. So that glow you see is actually pollen in the hairs. Honey bees, bumble bees, and other bee species typically pack it around their hind legs.

Interesting reading: can we revive the American Chestnut by adding a gene?

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