Xylophile
Guides
Megachile pugnata
Pugnacious Leafcutter Bee, Sunflower Leafcutting Bee
Megachile pugnata is a solitary, cavity-nesting leafcutter bee native to North America. Females construct nests in preexisting hollow cavities using cut leaves to line brood cells, which are partitioned by plugs of mud, sand, or vegetation. Adults feed exclusively on flowers in the Asteraceae family, making them particularly effective pollinators of sunflowers. The species exhibits strong instinctive aggregation behavior, with females preferentially nesting near conspecifics even when cavities are abundant. Males emerge before females in spring, mate quickly, and die, while females live approximately two months and produce 35-40 eggs across multiple nests.