Liz BARRATT, European Honey Bee (DOCO 2021)

This collection of photos are the European Honey Bee (Apis melifera) visiting a bottlebrush in full bloom on my property in Queensland. These Bees are not a native to Australia but do provide an important role in our agricultural pollination. The second photo in my series is of a Bee releasing liquid waste called uric acid, but they release it in such small amounts so it’s unusual to witness it and rare to be captured. Entomologist Juanita Rodriguez at CSIRO’s Australian National Insect Collection, confirmed the sighting was pretty rare when I contacted her and CSIRO subsequently ran an article on this photo. Bee’s are such an important part of agricultural eco system so as a community we need to ensure we plant species that will keep our Bee population healthy.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.