Magnet - Mason Bee at Work

Description

Mason Bee at Work © Solvin Zankl (2023). Wildlife Photographer of the Year is owned by the Natural History Museum, London.

Behaviour: Invertebrates, Highly Commended

A two-coloured mason bee – a solitary species – is building a thatched roof over her snail-shell nursery. Having laid her eggs in the shell, which she has filled with pollen and nectar for the larvae, she seals it with grass and sticky saliva and then covers it with sticks.