Collection: Pollination

The bird and the bee amongst the flowers and the trees. You could say that it’s all about…pollination!

This scene is comprised of the following native Australians:

Rainbow lorikeet, a parrot that is common along the eastern side of Australia, from North Queensland to South Australia. We see lots of lorikeets around here, and this one is a special rescue called Pretty Boy.
Blue banded bee, which can perform a special kind of pollination called ‘buzz pollination’, which is when the female bee grasps a flower (the kind that hides its pollen, as some do) and shivers her flight muscles, which causes pollen to shoot out of the capsule. Bit saucy, really.
Broadleaved paperbark tree (left) and weeping bottlebrush (right), both of which are great sources of nectar for birds and insects. Both of these trees come from the myrtaceae family, but the paperbark tree is also known as a melaleuca (scientific name Melaleuca quinquenervia) or tea tree, and the bottlebrush is a callistemon (scientific name Callistemon viminalis).
Coastal rosemary (centre), a.k.a. native rosemary (scientific name Westringia fruticosa) is great for attracting blue banded bees, and is actually a member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family!
Grevillea (bottom), which is a member of the Proteaceae family and can flower throughout the whole year.