Leaf Cutter Bee?

[AlP]

I believe this to be a Leaf Cutter bee preparing a nest site in a friends back step. Canon 1Dx and Canon MPE-65. Magnification unrecorded but probably near 1x.

[MarkSturtevant]

Nice picture. I don't know what this one is, but there are solitary bees that burrow in the soil and in wood that have a similar face-on view. I don't think leaf cutter bees actually make their own tunnel, but I could be wrong on that.

[Olympusman]

I had a home in Phoenix, Arizona that had mortar between the bricks made from volcanic ash rather than sand. It was very soft mortar. The leaf cutter bees apparently dug their own tunnels which they lined with the bright purple flower petals of bougainvillia.

Mike

[Dalantech]

From the shape of the head and the mandibles it looks like a Leaf Cutter Bee

I like the shot, but the light is harsh. What ring flash are you using?

[AlP]

From the shape of the head and the mandibles it looks like a Leaf Cutter Bee

I like the shot, but the light is harsh. What ring flash are you using?

It was the Canon MR-14EX. This wasn't a photo venture I was expecting to do. It was a "run n gun" and go back home. Any other time I would have set up a couple of Canon EX II's and spent quality time.