Leaf-cutting Bee

These are cute little guys and are important native pollinators, they also are less aggressive than other bee species and are unlikely to sting. I of course wouldnt recommend an allergic person to futz with them but I have accidentally held one before and it didn't do anything and I also shoo them from my redbud and they don't do anything... same cannot be said of honeybees!

Some notes on their leaf-cutting behavior:
They don't take leaves year-round, only during times of nest building in my experience [did it June to July here in Florida].

They really favor thin, flat leaves for their use and seem to like my American redbud a little too much but they also eagerly cut up Desmodium incanum weeds (a recent invasive in my yard that I don't completely cul... read morel because it's tripled our population of Long-tailed skippers, who use it as a host) and similar plants. I also hear they really like roses so I might purchase some sacrificial yellow Knockouts :P

Their habits don't normally hurt plants but may affect their aesthetics. I'll be protecting my redbud sapling with a screen next year during their nest-building period (partially because it's still a young plant so the holes are far more obvious but also because it only leaves out once). I suggest others who worry about younger plants do the same rather than resort to pesticides which are ineffectual (they do not eat the plant) and endanger other wildlife.

I also have never heard of them defoliating a crepe myrtle... I have several and they never have actual damage from these. Weird how people refer to a native creature as an "infestation" on their non-native Chinese plants lol

For the first time in 20 years of outdoor gardening, I found the leafcutter bee feasting merrily on our Rudbeckia leaves (bloom time has not hit us yet in Wickliffe, OH). It was able to make fairly perfect circles in a number of leaves - and in quick order. I'm not happy to see these for my plants' health and certainly hope they don't sting humans.

Not sure if this is the kind of leaf cutter bee we have , but it does do alot of damage to trees, shrubs, etc. I have not found anything to get rid of these guys. If anyone comes up with some way to kill, or repel, please pass it on. I hate these little guys!