Bees In Art: Raising Awareness About Pollinators In Peril

Beekeeping in Britain by Andrew Tyzack

Bees In Art: Raising Awareness About Pollinators In Peril
Andrew Tyzack and Debbie Grice Found Special Gallery To Celebrate Role Of Bees In Our Lives
Written By Todd Wilkinson

As artists who together operate The Land Gallery in England in East Yorkshire, they decided to do something about it: Put out a call to other artists and open a virtual gallery with procceds from the sale of artwork going to the cause of pollinator conservation. Tyzack has a particular insight into the problem, which in many parts of the globe has manifested itself as Colony Collapse Disorder. Outbreaks of CCD have been blamed on a virulent combination of mites and a fungus killing honey bees with weakened immune systems potentially caused by exposure to pesticides. Loss of habitat also is taking a serious toll on wild bees, with several species in the U.S. now imperiled.

Tyzack himself is a third-generation beekeeper, a practitioner of the apiary arts, husbanding his domestic honey hives to make sweet honey.

More and more, artists are stepping forward to aid in the cause of conservation. This effort on behalf of pollinators is similar to one led by biologist Kerry Kriger who founded Save The Frogs and has sponsored an art contest that is open to painters of all ages.

Bees in Art celebrates Hymenoptera, the order of insect that encompasses honey bees, bumblebees and related species. He said that he and Grice welcome artists in North America to contact him if they are interested in supporting bee conservation by making works available for sale...

For complete article please visit The Wildlife Art Journal.