Nature

Of Snailshell Bees and Where the Wild Bees Live.

Posted by: artimundi

2 days 4 hours ago

On Wednesday, to my great delight I saw the astonishing snail shell bee in action.

Earlier this year Trevor had very kindly emailed to tell me of a probable Osmia bicolour nesting location quite close by and so, on the only hopeful bee spotting day last week, we spent a fascinating couple of hours on a chilly but dry morning scanning a local south facing scrubby bank.

We were looking for the female Osmia bicolour bee who so charmingly findsÂ ready made homes in empty snail shells. She is quite small and extremely pretty with brilliantly coloured dark ginger hairs on her

Four More of the Big Six beesâ€¦

Posted by: artimundi

5 days 8 hours ago

If the recent wet and cold weather has done one good thing it has kept me indoors at the drawing board and able to complete the Big 6 commission. No time to blog about them individually but here are some rather basic scans of the last four paintings.

Bombus hortorum The Garden Bumble Bee

Hortorum bg

Bombus lucorum the White Tailed Bumble bee

The Early Bumble bee, Bombus pratorum

Posted by: artimundi

3 weeks 2 hours ago

In my box of bee â€œmodelsâ€, which have proved to be so surprisingly popular at my Buzz shows, I have a little family. Itâ€™s a Bombus pratorum trio; the queen,Â little fluffy male and a tiny neat worker. If anyone is frightened of bees, learning about this endearing family usually does the trick.

The males are particularly attractive and they were all over the cotoneaster in the churchyard here last year, so I chose the male for this set of paintings. They are also delightfully hairy, with long silky hair which sticks up here and there. Thereâ€™s a bit of a rakish air about

Easton Workshops and a Painting!

Posted by: artimundi

4 weeks 2 days ago

Itâ€™s been a VERY busy week. The Empty Garden has been begging for attention, so seeds have been sown and plants lined up for planting and more lists made.Â I held one of my â€œBugs Beasts and Botanicalsâ€ painting workshops at Easton Walled Gardens with Judith, Michael, Sue, Elaine and Lucy. Thanks all for coming and for your fantastic input and enthusiasm. It was so enjoyable.
The workshops are all about looking..looking hard and looking again and appreciating and developing ones own abilities, aptitudes and enthusiasms.Â I am going to write a post about them in more detail

A Tawny Mining Bee and thanks to Nature in Art.

Posted by: artimundi

5 weeks 1 day ago

I am back from my 10 days over Easter at Nature in Art, having met so many interesting and bee friendly people and made quite a few converts too.
I am also much more knowledgeable about honey bees and the great work done by Bees Abroad. Their observation hive was fascinating.
One day I arrived early to hear the bees making an extra loud buzzing, easily audible from behind the closed shutters. When Brian opened up, it was clear the excitement was caused by new loads of pale pollen arriving.Â Â A frenzy of waggle dancing was going on.Â If I read their directions

Nature

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