Leaf cutting bees

Symptoms

Beautiful, elliptical pieces are cut from the sides of leaves with extraordinary regularity. A common problem on roses and wisteria.

Cause

The female bee uses these pieces to build a nest. She may take up to a hundred individual pieces.

Harm

The bee often returns to the same plant time and again and odd stems may become quite severely defoliated. However, this is never sufficient to really damage the plant as a whole.

Treatment

Bees are good for pollinating plants and as such are essential for your garden. Also, the precision of the semi-circles is so astonishing, and fascinating to watch.

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