Hedda Murray, native Blue Banded Bees (ANIMALS 2026)

BBBs are not commonly seen where I live, so very excited when a whole gang turned up one summer morning. They use ‘buzz pollination’, rapidly shivering their wing muscles over flowers that may be hiding pollen in small capsules, causing the capsules to pop open and shoot the pollen out. I have included a photo in this sequence of a bee with pollen tossed over her back, no doubt the left-overs from one such shiver ‘n pop session. It also gives opportunity to see the intricacies of her wings while still. BBBs are solitary. Females nest in burrows dug into clay or soil, males cling to plant stems during the night.

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