Tim Hill (https://pixnio.com/fauna-animals/insects-and-bugs/bees-insects-pictures/pollen-bee-nature-garden-summer-insect-macro-flower) CC0
Scientists in Turkey and Iran have identified a species of bees that creates nests for their eggs out of mud and flower petals, making beautiful small cocoons in which their young grow!
The Osmia (Ozbekosima) avoseta bee constructs these delicate cocoons, fills them with nutrients for their offspring, and then seals a single egg into each nest, which measures roughly half an inch in length (roughly the width of a woman’s thumbnail). And the nests aren’t just decorated with flower petals on the outside–they comprise a layer of petals on the inside, followed by a layer of mud, and then a layer of petals for the outside as well. So these bees are making the homes for their offspring beautiful inside and out!
To learn more about these interior designer bees, check out this article from NPR!
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