It is the Leaf-Cutter Bee. She takes the circles to line nesting chambers, often dug beneath a rock or pavement edge. It is a small yellow/black bee resembling what we call sweat bees and steady bees around here. It is fascinating to watch her cut, using her body as a compass. No control necessary.

Not to worry!
You have been visited by some leafcutter bees.

They are harmless souls, who take some of those neat circles to line their nests.
If you are fortunate, you may find them working -- but they are only here for a short time.
The plants will take no harm from them.

If you don't wish them in your garden, be sure to eliminate any old rotted wood and the like, for such things harbor them.
Come to think of it, I haven't seen any of them this year.

Jeri

I have a few rose leaves that were cut out by the Leaf cutter bee. I got to watch the bee doing his/her cutting...LOL
It is neat to watch as Michaelg mentioned.

Jim

well, I am glad to know that they will not hurt my roses, but there sure is a lot of damage, it's close to half of both trees!!
It sounds like the bees are only around for a short time, correct? So I guess I don't really need to do anything about it.

Thanks!!!
Rita

Rita, I have two tree roses as well. In the beginning they too had those nickel shaped holes, but once the bee finishes its nest it won't bother you ever again. Feed your tree roses some nice fish emulsion like Gardenville sea tea or DrammaticK and they will sprout bunches! of new leaves and stems. Before you know it, you won't be able to notice those old holes anymore and your tree will fluff out very nicely.

Wow - that's not cool at all. I would probably do something about the leafcutter population if it were causing that much destruction. Maybe use malathion? I've found that it has good residual effect.

I wonder if something like a yellowjacket trap might work - I've found several kinds of flying nasties in ours. I assume leafcutters fly?

uhh, Spawish, if one has pets and children I would never, ever! use malathion. The leafcutter bee is very harmless and never stings and it will! stop chewing the leaves as soon as it finishes building its tiny nest.

Here is information about malathion from the producers of this insecticide. Very scary stuff, in my opinion.

warning label on malathion

That's odd. I remember in 90s our city was sprayed with malathion at night by helicopters. It was to prevent the medfly. I've always used it since then.

I had a visist this year from a leafcutter, I only wish I could have seen her work **sigh** But I would just let her be, when she is done her nest she will leave you alone.

If they are a serious problem why not get some netting and tent them for a while, what will keep them and the enviroment safe.

Good Luck

ritamay;
Do you need perfect leaves because you exhibit or do you just have a perfect leaf phobia? When walking or driving past the damaged leaves quickly you can't see them. The leaf cutter bee is also a polinator and shouldn't be trapped or killed.

spawish;
Why is it necessary to trap or spray insecticides to kill every insect that causes a little damage? Aside from the little temporary damage they do, they don't harm the bush.
You need to learn to live with Mom Nature and not try to destroy these little living things.

I assume the leafcutter bees are responsible for the almost full circles cut out of Lime Sublime's leaves every year. I have to say, I sort of like the effect! It looks like stylized, decorative curls. Also, it doesn't even seem to kill the leaf - the cut margins don't die back.

I guess I wouldn't like it as much if half the leaves have holes, but just think of it as a gift from your rose garden to some helpful pollinators! I'm always proud to see that I've lured them to my garden once again... I agree with Serena - if there's lots of damage, just give them a little pick-me-up.

Lara

I love seeing those cut-out circles on my rose leaves every year, knowing that they are from the leaf-cutter bees, and what they use them for. It's really cool.

Susan

assume the leafcutter bees are responsible for the almost full circles cut out of Lime Sublime's leaves

*** They clearly prefer certain roses over others -- I don't know what their criteria is. :-)
But I think they're rather wonderful.

Jeri

I would rather see that damage than that of the sawfly larvae, grrr!

Spawish, help us understand....how is it that having a garden, too you, means some sort of sterile plant-growing space? The imagery reminds me of a ghost town. The thing is, you absolutely cannot have a garden, at least a healthy garden, the way it is supposed to be and serving the purpose it is meant to serve, and spray the bejeebers out of every insect that comes through.

thanks again everyone....

I would not do anything to hurt the bee!!
I always try to save the honey bees that fall into my pool!!!

I wonder, though, where is her nest??? I don't really want some big old hive around. Any ideas there??

Thanks
Rita

No big old hive to worry about - Leafcutter bees are solitary bees. Solitary bees build and live in individual nests rather than in a hive or with a colony of bees.

thanks, morz!!

Hi greenhaven,

I certainly don't spray the "bejeebers" out of the yard. I just don't like things eating my plants. So, when I see something like a ladybug or a butterfly, I let it be, and when I see something like ants, caterpillars, bees, wasps, grasshoppers etc. I eliminate them. Hardly think I'm making a dent in the insect population of the world - just keeping them out of my business and away from the garden I love!

The unfortunate fact, though, is that by eliminating the things you dislike you also damage populations of the "good" bugs, which re-populate more slowly than those bugs they feed on. So when a population of good bugs is damaged, it certainly is followed by an explosion of the "bad" bugs because the natural balance is out of whack.

As for hardly making a dent, that is true....in a world-wide perspective. If it weren't for God's mercy in providing a food chain, bugs could rule this world, lol! (I still kinda think they do...) But the impact in one local garden is significant. The more bugs we eliminate from our gardens the more dependent we are on insecticides to control them, and the more opportunity we provide to create resistant populations.

Trust me on this Spawish -- If you kill the GOOD bugs, you will soon or late be overwhelmed with BAD bugs.
It's a spiral.

You should NEVER deliberately kill pollinators. NEVER. EVER.
And Greenhaven is correct. What we do in our gardens has an immense collective effect on the overall health of our world.

It's sort of like second-hand smoke.
Or yelling "FIRE!" in a crowded theatre.
You may get away with it, but you really DON'T have the right to do things that impact others.
And killing pollinating bees is right up there in DON'T DO THAT territory.

Jeri

I'm going to walk away from this discussion because arguments on message boards never seem to be very productive. I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one and move forward. We are all doing what we think is best for our gardens.

: )
SW

Spawish, most of us in here have realized that killing bugs is counterproductive. Good bugs eat the bad bugs. In case you hadn't realized there is a world wide decline of bees. So spraying harsh chemicals kills them. It is truly enlightened to accept and learn that there are reasons for even nasty insects. A bug free garden is no garden. I have enjoyed all the bugs and birds and animals in my yard this year.

To be honest, you are not willing to listen to another point of view. As a culture we have learned how harmful chemicals are. I wish you would pay attention. God made everything for a reason