You’ll hear it before you see it – with its captivating colours and high-pitched buzz, these little legends are as striking as they are hardworking.

Blue-banded bees are masters of buzz pollination – a technique that involves shaking pollen from flowers. But unlike other buzz pollinators that shake the blooms, Blue-banded bees take a head-on approach, literally… They grab the flower’s anther and rapidly head butt it to release the pollen. Talk about getting straight down to buzzness.

The Blue-banded bee was named the 2024 ABC Australian Insect of the Year and is fast becoming one of Australia’s well recognised native bees.