This Leafcutter Bee is a native pollinator, one of many species that we must allow to thrive by providing them food in the form of native flowers and protecting them from pesticides that can kill them. They make their nests in the ground, and line it with leaves that they cut with those huge mandibles. Check out the unique hairs on its abdomen that hold pollen. All other bee species use special hairs or pockets on their hind legs to store pollen as they visit different flowers. The combined efforts of all our native pollinators allow us to grow beautiful gardens, as well as the fruits and vegetables we eat.
The ‘Meet Your Neighbours’ global biodiversity project is a worldwide photographic initiative dedicated to reconnecting people with the wildlife on their own doorsteps (wherever on the planet this doorstep happens to be) – and enriching their lives in the process. The animals and plants found in our immediate vicinity are vital to people: they represent the first, and for some, the only contact with wild nature we have.
