Leaf-cutter bee taking new leaf into its nest

Yesterday I noticed a bee flying up to this hole in the trunk of our old and now dead Rhus tree and stayed to watch it exit and then return again a few minutes later. I then realised that it was carrying plant material back into the nest and twigged (sorry) that it might be a leaf-cutter bee.

I spent quite a while watching it fly to and fron and thought that it was going to our bay tree for material. but having now checked online for information about them, it seems more likely that it likes rose leaves. Who wouldn't.

This morning after making tea, and having taken a cup to Helena who was having a lie-in, I brought my camera out to the garden to enjoy mu cup and to see if the bee would return. I was in luck within minutes, although it took me quite a while to actually get this suitable image showing the intricate manoeuvres the bee has to make to line up the leaf, squeeze it into a suitable shape to fit through the oblong hole and then grabbing it with its forelegs to shuffle it into the nest.

I watched one of the two bees (I think that is all there are) pushing lots of tiny bits of wood, like sawdust, from inside the hole before the other bee returned with more leaves. The tree has died this year and this nest shows how important it is to leave nature to transform its features. These rhus trees, which are very common on the local limestone slopes, are short lived and this one has been, and still, is the site of several of our bird feeders as well as a much loved climbing tree for Bomble. 

In fact Bomble joined me whilst I stood next to the nest and scratched the trunk just inches above this nest hole. I was also joined by several species of butterfly, moths, flies, spiders, bees and flowers all within three feet of this scene. Aren't we lucky?

I found this information on the Royal Horticultural Society website:

What are leaf-cutting bees?
There are seven species of leaf-cutting bees in the UK. They have a wingspan of 8-14mm and are dark brown bees covered in lighter brown or orange hairs.

Leaf-cutting bees are solitary bees, the females of which use leaf pieces to construct cells within their nests. They are active from late spring to late summer. The nest site may be a naturally occurring tunnel, such as a hollow plant stem, or it may make a tunnel for itself in rotten wood or dryish soil. Inside the nest the leaf pieces are manipulated to form a thimble-like structure, which is then provisioned with a mixture of nectar and pollen. When sufficient food has been gathered the female bee lays a single egg on the stored food and then proceeds to cap the cell with circular pieces of leaf. This process is repeated until the nest may contain about 20 leaf cells.