Honey Bees

Austrian ethologist and honey bee pioneer, Karl von Frisch wrote Bees : Their Vision, Chemical Senses, and Language in 1950. His experiments and training of bees helped us understand the way bees see the world—a completely different world than seen by human beings. Immersed in the honey bee world, I was inspired to create Hive Mind, and Honey Bee Home, imagining life as a bee.

Hummingbirds

How did plants and hummingbirds co-evolve so that the long beak of the bird fits so well into the trumpet-like neck of the hummingbird-type flower? Work published by Paul Wilson in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology proposes that “apart from ‘pro-bird’ adaptations, specific ‘anti-bee’ adaptations have been important in shaping hummingbird-flowers.” Apparently the numbers tell the story—hummingbirds disperse more pollen than bees without eating any of the pollen. By keeping bees out, more nectar is reserved as a reward for the birds, and the flowers reproduce more efficiently.

“Symbiosis”

20 x 16, Oil on Panel, Framed

For sale at Artistic Portland Gallery

 Bumble Bees

I was surprised to learn that bumble bees are warm-blooded. They need to burn sugar for heat, to keep their body temperature up and power their flight muscles. Sometimes in the early spring when only a few flowers have opened, you will see a bee walking on the ground. If that bee doesn’t get sugar fast, it won’t survive. Those early bees are queens, coming out of hibernation, starting the work of building her hive and laying her worker bees. 

10% of my profits from Chrysos Designs Artworks go to the Columbia Land Trust (columbialandtrust.org) to support their work in protecting and restoring our Pacific Northwest ecosystem. “At Columbia Land Trust, we know that everything in this mosaic is connected and that when ourmlands, waters, and wildlife thrive, so do we.” Visit columbialandtrust.org/fearless-conservation/ to learn more.

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