Furry guest in the salad!

I was planting out some young lettuces when I noticed in the soil of the last few were some grubs, I wondered what they were and as I lifted the soil I heard a buzzing...I've only gone and got a bee living in the lettuce tray!! Sweet!!
I love it - more and more little bits of wildlife coming to live in my humble garden as it progresses

 

That's the way :D We can co-exist peacefully with thousands of other creatures, accept them and have a happy garden or fight them and have a chemically polluted waste land. Made my choice a long time ago and never regretted it :D

 

You're right there HB...Well bee and lettuces are staying safely in the placcy greenhouse as long as they like
I've got to the point now where I even let the blackfly stay on the alcanet, seeing as it grows like nobody's business and if they're on that they're not on my other flowers! They'll get a shock when the ladybirds move in :D

 

I disturbed a leafcutter bee in a plant pot. Got a photo of the larvae before putting them in the shed in an angelica stalk. They're still there, looking OK. Each one is about 1/2 " long.


It seems bees are as daft as birds in choosing their nests.

 

My pots are infested with them in my greenhouse Liz. I dont like killing bees but I must admit to killing a few over the years, allow one to overwinter in a pot and the problem is ten fold next year.
Some pots have nearly all the soil removed by them, they particually like the plastic ones with the drainage holes that come up the sides of the pot.

 

How do you know what kind of bee they are? There seems to be so many of them.. My bee is small-ish and black & yellow that's all I know, and the grubs are thin and pale brown. I'll have to do some research.

 

I only knew because of the little cigar shaped cocoons, obviously made from leaves. Look at how it is making the nest and what the grubs are in.
Pete I haven't found any more, mine were outside and would have been drenched when the pot had a good water. It says in the books that they make tunnels but as you say mine had hollowed out dry soil. I don't mind a few, there's lots of room.

 

Hmm, well I can't actually see, all I can see is a bee in a hole, and the grubs were on the top as I'd disturbed them by pulling the soil apart before I realised they were there. I'll google and see what I can find!

 

I'm a bit late on this one but there's a good site here: InsectPics : Solitary Bees