Marion Peters, Blue Banded Bee – Buzz Pollination (ANIMAL 2021)

This beautiful Australian Blue Banded Bee lives a solitary life, her home a shallow burrow in clay soils in the Mallee. She visits this native lily abundant with flowers that open over a period of many days, carefully selecting her target. She then hones in on the flower, grasping it and shivering her flight muscles causing the pollen to be released from the stamen. She then collects pollen for her nest, visiting other flowers on her way. This act of Buzz Pollination is relied on by the Lily in order to produce viable seed pods for future generations.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.