Bottle bee on a tridax daisy #botanicalillustration #entomologicalillustration. Done in watercolour, cut to white. the bee is tawny with big eyes and brown legs. It's curved over the disc florets, gathering pollen. It's antennae are curled forward, giving her an inquisitive air. the scrappy looking Tridax daisy has white petals and bright yellow central florets.

Detail of the bottle bee zooming in on the purplish eye and brown fur. You can see the segmentation of the tarsus (feet) clearly, and well and the kneed antennae

Another close up, zooming in to the abdomen and rear leg of the bee. You can see the bumpy pollen sack, which is orange and pretty full. Wings are brownish and folded neatly over her back. the dic florets on the daisy are mostly closed, like gold spheres. Only the edge ones are in bloom. You can see a little of the white ray florets too.

This is the endemic #Bottlebee #Melipona lautipes, on a #Tridax #daisy. It's from #Montserrat in the #Caribbean. It's pouring with rain, so I'm posting a summery #sciart #insect #illustration

They have no sting, are fluffy and friendly, and make nests in the shape of bottles. What's not to love?