A bee dives into an East Indian lotus flower at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington DC, USA

© Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Image

In the pink on World Bee Day

If flowers are the stars of nature's big spring show, then bees are the film crew. Honey bees are always buzzing in the background, pollinating not only flowers, but also food crops that make up a third of humans' diet. Today's pollen-coated photo subject was certainly ready for her close-up.

Maybe she's striking a pose on the pink carpet for World Bee Day? The annual event is held on 20 May to celebrate bees' crucial environmental role and raise awareness of the threats they face, especially as the world bee population has declined in recent decades. By carrying pollen, our bee friend is helping fertilise this East Indian lotus and the many other flowering plants here at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, which protects 700 acres of tidal marshland in the eastern corner of Washington, DC in the USA.