Last year, I really enjoyed bringing you the
best in nudibranch Oscar fashion. So, I thought this year I might try the bees. After all, bees have tremendous diversity (unlike Oscar nominees), though you may only be able to name the honeybee (which isn't even native to North America) and the bumblebee (and there are in fact several different bumblebees). The ecological health of pollinators is of great concern, but it's isn't all about honeybees. In any region, the native bees are often the most important pollinators and few are familiar with their incredible variety. So enjoy the great beauty and astounding colours of these bees, glam enough for the red carpet. Maybe you'll recognize some from the nearest garden.
Learn more about bees of this part of the world at Resonating Bodies. Check out the great Bee Tribes of the World from York University for a sense of the staggering variation in bees. For a wonderful collection of photos of specimen, follow the
USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab on flickr.
You can also find my own artwork
about the biodiversity of bees here and
here. If you also make art about bees, let me know and check out this call for artists for an upcoming
show about and for bees.
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| Alicia Vikander dressed as Xylocopa India, a yellow carpenter bee from India |
