Bees and Roses

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Bees and Roses

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moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 10:23 am Post subject: Bees and Roses
I have got a rose garden in my garden, and whilst I was doing gardening type things in it I noticed a bee come down, and chew off a section of rose leaf and then fly off with it. I've seen this happen before but I got to thinking, why do they do that then? I've never seen them do it with other plants species, only ever with roses. Do they do it with other plant species?

Lozzie

Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 10:32 am Post subject:
I think this may be the Leafcutter Bee! https://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05576.html We saw these a lot at our last house. We had wondered what on earth was cutting such neat, surgical little semi-circles out of the rhododhendrons (sp) L x

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 10:35 am Post subject:
Yes thats them! How interesting. Maybe I should be checking my roses for damage as there seem to be loads and loads about this year.

tawny owl

Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 563
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 12:16 pm Post subject:

moogie wrote:

Yes thats them! How interesting. Maybe I should be checking my roses for damage as there seem to be loads and loads about this year.

I wouldn't bother; even if you've got masses, the damage they do is cosmetic, and they're good pollinators - that particular article makes them out to be much worse than they actually are, whereas some other sites recommend actually giving them places to nest.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 9:24 am Post subject:
Don't worry: they do no 'real' damage to the plants. We had them at our last house and the rose bushes suffered not one whit. They use the leaf sections to roll into little cigar shapes to house larvae burried in the soil. Fascinating creatures!

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