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 13 solitary bee cell, larva DHJanzen101028.jpg high resolution
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| Once the basic biology of excavating a nest in soil is established, selection has taken bee nest construction in a variety of directions. In the case of this tropical anthophorid bee, once it has excavated a cell underground, then it lines the cell wall with this thick wax layer, beautifully engineered into a sealed capsule, with the pollen mass in the bottom and the single bee larva on top eating its bed out from underneath itself (what a life - no telly, though). | ||
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