Photo: Hectonichus / CC BY-SA 4.0

Megachile maritima

Coast Leafcutter Bee

A large leafcutter bee (14–15 mm) with a yellow-brown hairy thorax, the first two tergites yellow-brown and tergites 3–6 black-haired. Females have a distinctive tri-coloured ventral scopa: white at the front, red in the middle, and black at the tip. Males have greatly expanded whitish front tarsi. It is a generalist (polylectic) forager visiting Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and other families. It nests in self-excavated burrows in sandy soil, often among grass roots, with only 1–2 brood cells lined with cut leaf pieces. It is univoltine, flying from June to August/September. In Switzerland it is rare and classified as endangered, occurring only in sandy habitats such as inland dunes, sand pits, and sandy ruderal areas in warm lowlands. Its brood parasite is Coelioxys conoidea.