We went to check on the insect boxes to find we had some garden friends who have made one their home - Leafcutter bees!
Leafcutter bees are solitary bees as they have no social caste and fend for themselves and their offspring. The females will use leaf pieces to construct cells within their nests.
They are active from late spring to late summer and their pollen-carrying structure is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen.
We noticed that something had been cutting notches out of the leaves of our rosebushes and shrubs. Judging by the shape of the cut, it matched those seen on the insect box.
It’s interesting to learn about them because it’s the first time we have had such a species in one of our insect boxes.