Leafcutter bee (Megachile sp.) pollinating a senna flower (Colutea sp.). As the bee sucks nectar from the flower, its abdomen rubs against the stamen

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Leafcutter bee (Megachile sp.) pollinating a senna flower (Colutea sp.). As the bee sucks nectar from the flower, its abdomen rubs against the stamen - picking up grains of pollen. Each pollen grain contains a male gamete which, when deposited on another plant of the same species, can fertilise an ovule and produce seeds. This bee gains its name from its method of building a nest. It cuts off sections of leaves with its sharp mandibles and uses them to line a hole it has found.

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Size: 3488px × 5255px
Photo credit: © DR. JOHN BRACKENBURY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, bee, biological, biology, botanical, botany, colutea, cutter, drinking, fauna, feeding, flowers, insect, insecta, leaf, leaf-cutter, leafcutter, leafcutting, megachile, nature, nectar, plant, pollen, pollinating, pollination, reproduction, senna, sp., wildlife, zoological, zoology