FEW bugs (and even animals) maintain fairly as a lot sway on the planet as bees. As pollinators that flock from flower to flower, crop to crop, they maintain the world’s flora and biodiversity thriving. And but, because of a myriad of lethal elements, equivalent to pesticides, habitat destruction and local weather change, 1000’s of species are teetering on the brink.

A brand new exhibition all about these very important creatures, Bees: A story of survival, supplies an immersive window on their world, from the intricate anatomy of a single bee to the construction of total colonies. In collaboration with artist Wolfgang Buttress, it makes use of sound, sculpture and lightweight, mixing artwork and know-how to indicate guests the lives of bees around the globe, illuminating simply how devastating it might be to lose them.

The principle picture is of a bee from the genus Euglossa, also called orchid bees. These are a key orchid pollinator in North and South America (though in addition they flock to rotting fruit, fungi and even faeces). The males, one in all which is proven right here, use the odours from the chemical compounds they gather from pollination to courtroom females – the extra complicated the odour, the larger the attraction.

The following photographs present (high to backside): a violet carpenter bee (Xylocopa violacea), recognisable via its purple-sheened wings and physique, and one of many largest bees in Europe; a bee from the genus Nomioides, which is likely one of the smallest forms of bee; and an African carpenter bee (Xylocopa inconstans).

The exhibition might be on the World Museum in Liverpool, UK, till 5 Could 2025.