Key Features
- Circular holes in leaf margins
- No serious defoliation present
- Insect resembles honeybee
Symptoms
Damage is most common on thin leafed plants like redbud, maple, privet, and roses. Circular scars are present along the leaf margin. Adults are about the size of a honeybee, but dark with rows of white hairs on the abdomen.
Biology
Adult females stand on the edge of leaves and cut a circular scar as they remove a leaf disc. These discs are used to construct nests that feed her offspring. Typically an adult female will pack a tunnel with cells containing eggs and regurgitated pollen and nectar as food for her young. Each cell is separated by a plug made of leaf discs that the female removes from plants.
Management Recommendations
Injury from these bees is more a curiosity than a problem. Although circular scars detract from plant appearance, the injury is not likely to affect plant health. Leaf cutter bees are beneficial due to their ability to pollinate plants. In the rare instance where this feeding causes aesthetically unacceptable injury, further injury can be avoided if a broad spectrum insecticide is applied.
Effective Pesticides
Active Ingredients include: Bifenthrin, Carbaryl, Permethrin
Resources
- Not satisfied with ID? Contact the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab
- Sign Up for the Purdue Landscape Report
