Nix Nature Center, Laguna Beach, Orange County, CA. 6-21-09. © Ron Hemberger
Leafcutter Bee

Megachile sp.

From Eric Eaton:

Males have a blunt, if not truncated, abdomen (tapers in females) that has no pollen-collecting hairs (females have a scopa on the underside of the abdomen). Males tend to have large, 'pale' eyes, and yellow markings on the face (females have slightly smaller, 'darker' eyes, an all-gray face).

Hymenoptera: Megachilidae

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Female. Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, Orange County, CA. 6-25-08. © Ron Hemberger

Female. Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, Orange County, CA. 6-25-08. © Ron Hemberger

Female, 11mm, in Cirsium occidentale , Santa Ana Mountains, Orange County, CA. 05/07/2007. © Hartmut Wisch.

Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, Orange County, CA. 5-2-07. © Ron Hemberger

Incredible Edible Park, Irvine, Orange County, CA. 8-14-08. © Ron Hemberger

Male. Woods End Wilderness Preserve, Laguna Beach, Orange County, CA. 9-30-08. © Peter J. Bryant.

Male. Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, Orange County, CA. 9/15/07. © Ron Hemberger

Male. Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, Orange County, CA. 9/15/07. © Ron Hemberger

Nix Nature Center, Laguna Beach, Orange County, CA. 6-21-09. © Ron Hemberger

Nix Nature Center, Laguna Beach, Orange County, CA. 6-21-09. © Ron Hemberger

Irvine Regional Park, Orange, Orange County, CA. 6-30-10. © Ron Hemberger

Irvine Regional Park, Orange, Orange County, CA. 6-30-10. © Ron Hemberger

Irvine Regional Park, Orange, Orange County, CA. 6-30-10. © Ron Hemberger

Irvine Regional Park, Orange, Orange County, CA. 6-30-10. © Ron Hemberger