Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Flower-petal coccoons



Bees with a sense of style! The solitary bee Osmia (Ozbekosmia) avosetta from Turkey and Iran uses colorful petals from a legume plant to make its nests; each cell has two layers of petals sandwiching a thin layer of mud. Other Osmiine bees also use petals in their nest construction. A particularly beautiful example of animal architecture.

Original paper from the American Museum Novitates (AMNH), and NPR report with pictures.

(Via Sar)

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