Best Megachilidae

The alfalfa leafcutter bee, *Megachile rotundata*, is a solitary bee species native to Eurasia but now commonly used in North America. It’s notable for its exceptional ability to pollinate alfalfa and other crops, significantly boosting yields. Researchers, agriculturalists, and beekeepers utilize t...

The Blue Orchard Bee *Osmia lignaria* is a solitary bee native to North America belonging to the Megachilidae family. It’s notable for its distinctive metallic blue coloration and effectiveness as an orchard pollinator. These bees are particularly useful for fruit growers seeking natural pollination...

The Red Mason Bee, *Osmia bicornis*, is a common European bee known for its cavity-nesting behavior. Males are distinguished by noticeable facial horns. These solitary bees are particularly useful for pollinating fruit trees and vegetables due to their efficient foraging habits and preference for co...

The horned mason bee (Osmia cornuta) is a solitary bee species native to Europe. Females are distinguished by their large, horn-like projections above their eyes. These bees are particularly valuable pollinators for fruit trees and other flowering plants during the spring season. They are commonly u...

Anthidium manicatum, commonly known as the wool carder bee, is a solitary bee species native to Europe. It’s notable for females meticulously collecting plant fibers like thistle and dandelion down to construct elaborate nest linings. Males are fiercely territorial, guarding access to flowering plan...

The two-coloured mason bee, Osmia bicolor, is a solitary European bee in the family Megachilidae. Females have a black head and thorax with reddish hair on the abdomen, but the species is especially distinguished by its use of empty terrestrial snail shells as nests. A female builds brood cells insi...

Osmia spinulosa is a solitary mason bee from Europe notable for its unique habit of constructing nests inside empty terrestrial snail shells. The female bee provisions these shells with a mixture of pollen and nectar before laying a single egg and sealing the entrance with masticated plant material,...

The Blue Mason Bee (Osmia caerulescens) is a solitary insect in the leafcutter bee family, Megachilidae. The species is notable for the metallic blue or bluish-green coloration of its exoskeleton, particularly on the females. It is commonly found across Europe and typically nests in pre-existing cav...

The patchwork leafcutter bee, Megachile centuncularis, is a solitary bee in the family Megachilidae found across much of Europe and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Females cut rounded pieces from leaves and use them to line brood cells in cavities, where each cell receives pollen and nectar...

Willoughby's leafcutter bee, Megachile willughbiella, is a solitary bee in the family Megachilidae found across much of Europe. Females cut rounded pieces from leaves and use them to construct individual brood cells in cavities, including holes in wood and artificial bee hotels. Like other Megachile...

The Silvery Leafcutter Bee (Megachile leachella) is a solitary bee species within the family Megachilidae. It is primarily found in coastal regions across Europe, showing a strong preference for sandy habitats. The bee is easily identified by the dense, pale silver hair covering its thorax. Females...

The Orange-vented Mason Bee (Osmia leaiana) is a solitary bee species widely distributed across Europe. It is easily distinguishable by its bright orange abdominal tip and its preference for nesting in pre-existing cavities, such as holes in old wood or plant stems. The females use mud to construct...

The brown-footed leafcutter bee, Megachile versicolor, is a solitary bee in the family Megachilidae and occurs across parts of Europe. Females cut pieces from leaves and use them to line brood cells constructed in existing cavities, with each cell provisioned separately for one offspring. Pollen is...

The Gold-fringed Mason Bee is a solitary insect notable for the golden hair fringing its abdomen, typically found nesting in sandy European soils.

The Wood-carving Leafcutter Bee is distinguished by its habit of nesting in decaying wood and lining the cavities with neatly cut leaf fragments.

The coast leafcutter bee, Megachile maritima, is a solitary bee in the family Megachilidae found in parts of Europe and Asia. It is strongly associated with warm, sandy habitats, especially coastal dunes, although it can also occur at suitable inland sites. Females carry pollen on hairs beneath the...

The small resin bee, Heriades truncorum, is a small solitary bee in the family Megachilidae, native to Europe and parts of the western Palearctic. Females nest in existing narrow cavities, such as hollow stems or beetle holes, and divide the nest into brood cells using plant resin rather than excava...

The giant resin bee, Megachile sculpturalis, is a large solitary bee native to eastern Asia and a member of the family Megachilidae. Females use existing cavities, including holes in dead wood and artificial nesting blocks, and construct brood cells with resin and other plant material. The species h...

Hoplitis spinulosa is a solitary mason bee native to Europe and Asia, recognized for constructing its nests in pre-existing cavities using chewed leaves.

Chelostoma florisomne is a slender solitary bee in the family Megachilidae, commonly associated with buttercups in the genus Ranunculus. Females collect pollen almost exclusively from these flowers and construct linear nests in existing narrow cavities, including hollow stems and holes in wood. The...

Chelostoma campanularum is a small solitary bee in the family Megachilidae, commonly known as a scissor bee. Females collect pollen primarily from bellflowers in the genus Campanula and place it in brood cells constructed inside existing narrow cavities, such as hollow plant stems or insect holes in...

Stelis phaeoptera is a cuckoo bee found throughout Europe, distinguished by its parasitic lifecycle where it invades the established nests of mason bees.

Lithurgus chrysurus is a wood-boring bee native to the Mediterranean that was introduced to the United States in the early 20th century via New Jersey.

Coelioxys elongata is a solitary cuckoo bee distinguished by its sharply pointed abdomen, notable because it parasitizes the nests of leafcutter bees.

Coelioxys conoidea is a solitary bee native to Eurasia, notable as a kleptoparasite because females lay their eggs in the active nests of leafcutter bees to feed on their pollen.

Coelioxys rufescens is a solitary cuckoo bee found across Eurasia, notable for its parasitic breeding strategy of laying eggs in the provisioned nests of other leafcutter bees.

Stelis punctulatissima is a dark solitary bee native to Europe, notable for its cleptoparasitic lifestyle of laying eggs in the provisioned nests of other cavity-nesting bees.