Designed to be companion pieces, The Predators and The Pollinators both feature Australian flora and fauna, the exception being the Venus Flytrap motif on the wallpaper behind the Peregrine Falcons in The Predators.
The Predators. Oil on canvas. 400mm x 300mm © 2021 Jason T Austin
The Predators feature the Australian native Peregrine Falcons, a natural predator, alongside the Thyreus Cuckoo Bee. Also a native species, these bees behave like cuckoo birds, laying their eggs in the nests of other bees.
The Pollinators. Oil on canvas. 400mm x 300mm © 2020 Jason T Austin
The Pollinators feature the Australian Wattle Bird whose curved bill probes flowers and has a bristle tipped tongue to collect nectar. While doing this they transfer pollen between flowers.
Alongside the Wattle Bird is the Blue Banded Bee which performs a specific type of pollination called ‘buzz pollination’. Some flowers hide their pollen inside tiny capsules. This bee can grasp this kind of flower and vibrate their wing muscles, which causes the pollen to eject from the capsule. They then collect the pollen and distribute it from flower to flower. Quite a few native Australian flowers require buzz pollination
Jason T. Austin. 
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