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Glite Dictionary
leaf-cutting bee

leaf-cutting bee

6.8
A bee that cuts small pieces from leaves or flowers to build its nest
  • noun
translation icon : abeja cortadora de hojas
  • Unlike honey bees, the leaf-cutting bee prefers to use leaves for nest building.

Examples

  • We watched as the leaf-cutting bee carefully cut a circle out of a rose leaf.

  • The leaf-cutting bee is fascinating to observe.

  • A leaf-cutting bee was busy collecting leaf pieces for its nest in the garden.

  • Have you seen a leaf-cutting bee in your garden?

  • The leaf-cutting bee expertly cut small pieces from the rose leaves to build its nest.

  • In the garden, a leaf-cutting bee can be seen gathering bits of leaves for its home.

  • The leaf-cutting bee is known for its unique ability to harvest circular pieces from plants.

Synonyms

leaf-cutter
vsleaf-cutting bee
1 7.3

A small bee that cuts pieces of leaves to line its nest

mentions rounded pieces and building as well as lining
leaf-cutter bee
vsleaf-cutting bee
6.5

A bee that cuts pieces from leaves to make its nest

specifies rounded pieces and includes building as well as lining

Surface Forms

leaf-cutting bee singular
leaf-cutting bees plural

Morphology

leaf-cutting + bee

The compound is transparently built from 'leaf' + 'cutting' + 'bee', so a learner who knows 'leaf', the verb 'cut'/'cutting', and 'bee' can readily infer it denotes a bee that cuts pieces of leaves. This is a straightforward noun–modifier compound following common English patterns (and similar compounds exist in many languages), making the meaning directly derivable.

Etymology

Leaf-cutting bee comes from a simple, literal picture: these bees cut neat pieces from leaves—hence leaf and cutting—and use them to build or line their nests, so the name tells us it is a bee that 'cuts leaves' to make a home.