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19 July 1918 Clean-edged oblongs and circles cut from leaves are used to build the cells of their nests

On two or three occasions I have referred to the wonderfully neat work of the leaf-cutter bee, and I have just received some Marechal Niel rose leaves from Rock Ferry from which clean-edged oblongs and circles have been nibbled out. The leaf-cutter bees are not unlike our honey bees to look at, but their habits are very different. The pieces cut from the leaves are used to build the cells of their nests, and very wonderful cells they are. The cells lie end to end, and are packed into a tunnel or burrow, in some species in the ground, in others in woodwork or timber, or in a hole in a wall. The long fragments are folded one upon the other to form a thimble-shaped tube with a convex base; the round bits form the door, which is concave. The end of one cell fits into the door of the next. Each cell is half filled with pollen as food for the future grubs, an egg is laid upon this, and then the door is sealed up; the grub hatches and lives upon the food until it pupates and emerges as a perfect bee.

Related: The leafcutter bee: Country diary 100 years ago

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Aigas, Highlands: The weasel may be tiny, but this fierce predator can dispatch and drag off a full-grown rabbit 25 times its size – and has a stare that even humans can find unnerving

If I asked you to name Britain’s most savage wildlife killer, you might say fox or peregrine or goshawk, or perhaps even the golden eagle or the Scottish wildcat if you knew about such exciting rarities. But I think you would be wrong. Savage and killers they all are, no question, but in my book none comes close to the smallest UK mustelid, the weasel, Mustela nivalis, so tiny that its skull can pass through a wedding ring.

A few days ago I watched one hunting. It vanished into a rockery and emerged a few seconds later with a vole dangling from its jaws. Voles, rats and mice, as well as small birds, are a weasel’s staple, but a male will take much larger prey such as a full-grown rabbit, up to 25 times its own weight, kill it, and, incredibly, drag it away into cover. No other British predator does that.

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The University of Melbourne is the first institution in Australia to have its nitrogen footprint calculated – it's 139 tonnes per year, mainly because of food production, energy use and transport. Ee Ling Ng, Research fellow, University of Melbourne Deli Chen, Professor, University of Melbourne Xia Liang, PhD candidate, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Producers continued to starve the domestic market while making super profits off consumers.

After a record 2017, there is now more than 1900MW of solar PV farms under construction across Australia, and 35GW in various stages of development.

ACCC report identifies too little competition in market, but chooses to leave status quo in place. That won't help energy prices.

We go underground to sing in the caves; Woodstock farewells its butcher; we take a walk through the 'lungs' of Pt Macquarie; and visit Daniel and Kim Croker on 'Fork it Farm'

Development approval given for 300MW solar farm near Gladstone, yet another sign of transformation of the state's coal industry centre.

The UK Space Agency backs Scotland's north coast as the place to launch satellites to orbit.

Not everything humans put in the ocean is garbage. From walls of tyres to sunken sculptures, reef restoration is both a science and an art. Adam Smith, Adjunct Associate Professor, James Cook University Ian McLeod, Senior Research Scientist - Coastal Restoration, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Both male and female birds sing to impress other birds, but as well as that, they do it for pleasure! Michelle Hall, Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

It's hoped a breeding programme will help maintain numbers of the vulnerable species.

You won't believe your ears. A hidden herstory in the history of science.  

South Australia government hails success of trials of first phase of Tesla virtual power plant, saying it resulted in lower prices and greater grid security. It now seems disposed to roll-out the full 250MW planned, as well as its own plans for battery storage grants.

From Darwin's potato to the man who saved the daffodil. Pictures tell the story of the nation's plants.

With more funding and product stewardship, the recycling crisis could turn into an opportunity

There’s nothing like a crisis to spur on the search for a solution.

Since January, when China stopped accepting our contaminated recycling, Australia has been struggling with a waste crisis. While some local councils have tried to adapt their processes, some have been stockpiling recycling while others are sending it straight to landfill. And there’s still no long-term solution in place.

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We may all love puppies and kittens and want them treated well, but what rights – if any – should a fish have, or a cockroach? Kumi Taguchi joins two vegans – a Buddhist veterinarian and an animal-loving Christian to find out how to love animals best in a meat-obsessed world.

The ship that has now going to be called the RRS David Attenborough slid into the River Mersey on Saturday, ahead of its official naming ceremony in November. 

The 92-year-old broadcaster described the decision to name the ship after him as the 'greatest of honours' and called it 'a key to the future salvage of our planet'

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Sir David Attenborough has launched the hull of the UK's newest polar ship, which is named after him.

Exclusive: Australia Institute modelling reveals the best way to protect coal jobs in other regions is to stop Galilee developments

Developing new coalmines in the Galilee Basin would cost 12,500 jobs in existing coalmining regions and replace only two in three workers, modelling by the Australia Institute shows.

Job creation has long been an aggressive rallying call for supporters of Adani’s Carmichael megamine and other proposals in the untapped Galilee Basin, which combined would produce 150m tonnes of thermal coal each year.

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