The Bees Knees

Last year researchers found the nests of the bee Osmia avosetta in Turkey and Iran build nests layered with colorful flower petals.  The female bee digs a tunnel in the soil and then collects whole flower petals by biting them off of local flowers.  She takes the petals back to the nest and layers them with a thin middle layer of mud to create a cavity for her eggs and provisions.  The nests are beautiful natural art forms.

 

These photos are taken from the researcher’s abstract published by the American Museum of Natural History.  The full abstract can be found with on the American Museum of Natural History Research Library site along with the captions for the numbered photos.