"The two-coloured mason bee whizzes around chalk grasslands looking for empty snail shells of the exact right size,

"Like Goldilocks with her porridge testing, the bee will check lots of empty shells in the grassland, some are too big, some are too small or damaged, until she finds just the right one within which to lay her egg.

"She then nests in the snail shells and hides it from predators using the dry grass stalks she collects."

Nesting Habits: Instead of building traditional hives, these solitary bees seek out ready-made, hollow snail shells.

Protection: The carefully crafted stick-thatch fortress perfectly disguises the shell to keep developing larvae safe from predators like ants and birds.

Efficiency: A single female bee will repeat this intensive process across multiple snail shells throughout her lifetime.

Like most other bees, mason bees are solitary and do not form hives. Some species nest in aggregatio…

The eggs hatch a few days after they are laid, and the larvae feed on the food provisioned by the mother bee. After about 10 days, usually in August or September, each larva spins a cocoon and pupates within its brood cell.