CLOSED: don't manage to find an ID of this one..

I found some look-a-likes among the plasterer and Colletes species, but not one with an entirely whitish belly. They are with a small group, I think about 6 of them feeding on Campanula species, haven't noticed them on other flowers yet.

here you can see how it's entire belly is white...

feeding on a Campanula persicifolia
(damaged from a hail :-{ )

taking a rest on an ivy leaf..

When feeding it tends to curve its abdomen upwards..

It's a Leaf Cutter bee, the one with the orange hairs (3rd pic) under the abdomen is the female. The white in the first pic is pollen, although I usually see them with orange pollen. I had a few different types last year but lost the pics, I'm afraid there are a few of these and it might be difficult to distinguish one from another. The male is smaller, and very territorial, he attacks other bees as they try to feed!

Family Megachillinae. Megachile willughbiella I have put in the BugFiles last year, it is quite different to others but there are some very similar. Yours does look like the one I have, it's here again this year.

http://www.bwars.com/Megachile_willbughbiella.htm

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

The female gathers pollen under the abdomen as she feeds, the anther with pollen on Lupins is at the front of the pouch. I have seen one using it's back legs to rub the pollen off onto it's hairs, I had pics of it doing that last year on a lathyrus matucana.

This is a female.

This message was edited Jun 22, 2008 9:28 PM

The sweet but vicious little male!

I had two males guarding the Lupins, they would sometimes fly around each other but there was one which decided it was his. The other female apparently came to feed, he attacked it too.

I got this of the male attacking a bumblebee, it did this every time one appeared. he would make a 'bee line' as soon as he saw one land and fly straight at them, looks like he sinks his cutters into their back! I was lucky to get this shot, it's a very quick attack.

Oohhh that's really nasty!! Poor bumble bee!
I have learned a lot! Couldn't imagine the white belly was caused by the pollen of the Campanulas! Very interesting..

Your female looks exactly like mine, but your male looks somehow different, perhaps because of the angle the pic. is taken.. It is as if mine are all females..lol. I didn't notice a difference in size among them. Perhaps I'll have to observe their small society more closely.. I haven't seen any of them attacking other bees yet neither, but that's perhaps because I have no Lupines, except one single Lupinus nanus I remember now having seen them feeding on that too..until it got destroyed by the hail..

I have been roaming around that bwars-site for more than an hour. It's so interesting and makes me realise I have to learn so much more.. Nice international cooperation too, I even saw a photo of an author which is from my town..

Thank you so much, wallaby!

Yours do all look like females, the male tends to feed on different flowers to the female. I have seen it feeding on Delosperma and Geranium. Lupins are definitely favourite for the female.

The male is tiny compared to the female, and has a square tail end.

I should have said 4th pic with the orange hairs visible!

Beautiful picture of the male!
Until now I haven't seen one like that in my garden.
But I suppose that where I have females there must be males too.. I have some Geraniums blooming but only noticed bumble bees visiting, there are quite a lot of bees feeding on the Jasminum officinalis in full bloom now, but most of its flowers are way up so I would need a ladder to get there, lol..