Leafcutter (petal cutter) Megachile and the Blanket flower

Watercolor and pastel monotype

30” X 44”

Leafcutter bee flying to its nest just after cutting a petal from the Texas native Gaillardia pulchella aka blanket flowers. They use the petals to protect walls and to seal their nests. In exchange for the petals, the leaf cutter pollinates the blanket flowers bloom. It is one of my favorite relationships in “Symbiosis.”