leaf-cutter bee

leaf-cutter bee

▪ insect
also called  leaf-cutting bee,  
 any of a group of bees (order Hymenoptera), particularly genus Megachile, that differ from most other bees in that they collect pollen on their abdomens rather than on their hind legs. The solitary female, after mating, makes a nest in soil, a hollow plant stalk, or a cavity in wood, lining it with pieces of green leaf to envelop the brood. She obtains these pieces of leaves by standing on a leaf and cutting carefully around herself, leaving an almost circular hole at the leaf's edge. Different species of leaf-cutters prefer different plant species.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • leaf-cutter bee — noun bee that cuts rounded pieces from leaves and flowers to line its nest • Syn: ↑leaf cutting bee, ↑leaf cutter • Hypernyms: ↑bee • Member Holonyms: ↑Megachile, ↑genus Megachile * * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • leaf-cutter bee — noun A bee of the family Megachilidae that cuts fragments from leaves and uses them to build its nest. Syn: jelly jelly bee, leaf cutting bee, mason bee …   Wiktionary

  • leaf-cutting bee — noun bee that cuts rounded pieces from leaves and flowers to line its nest • Syn: ↑leaf cutter, ↑leaf cutter bee • Hypernyms: ↑bee • Member Holonyms: ↑Megachile, ↑genus Megachile * * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • leaf-cutting bee — noun A leaf cutter bee …   Wiktionary

  • leaf cutter — leaf cutter, leaf cutter leaf cutter . (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of various species of wild bees of the genus {Megachile}, which cut rounded pieces from the edges of leaves, or the petals of flowers, to be used in the construction of their nests, which… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • leaf-cutter — leaf cutter, leaf cutter leaf cutter . (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of various species of wild bees of the genus {Megachile}, which cut rounded pieces from the edges of leaves, or the petals of flowers, to be used in the construction of their nests, which… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • leaf-cutter — noun bee that cuts rounded pieces from leaves and flowers to line its nest • Syn: ↑leaf cutting bee, ↑leaf cutter bee • Hypernyms: ↑bee • Member Holonyms: ↑Megachile, ↑genus Megachile …   Useful english dictionary

  • leaf cutter — noun 1. : leaf cutting ant 2. or leaf cutter bee : leaf cutting bee …   Useful english dictionary

  • leaf|cut|ter — «LEEF KUHT uhr», noun. 1. = leaf cutter ant. (Cf. ↑leaf cutter ant) 2. = leaf cutter bee. (Cf. ↑leaf cutter bee) …   Useful english dictionary

  • bee — bee1 beelike, adj. /bee/, n. 1. any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebees, honeybees, etc. 2. the common honeybee, Apis mellifera. 3. a community social… …   Universalium

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