As this sweat bee collects California Poppy pollen to provision her nest, she is pollinating each poppy flower she visits. The plant is insured fertilization and the bee’s larvae a food source. She will create a mass of pollen and nectar inside a waterproof underground cell, lay an egg on it and then seal off the cell. The larvae will then consume the entire concoction, pupate, and eventually emerge as an adult bee.
California Poppy – Eschscholzia californica and Sweat Bee – Halibuts tripartitus ♀