Art Activism -wahoo!

Since last November I have been dropping hints to Houston Chronicle writer Molly Glentzer to write a native bee article. Earlier this week she called to talk about native bees. Some of the information I talk about when I talk about bees is alarming. She asked if I knew a locacal native bee athaurity, I did not. She said she could find one.
Here article came out today. Sadly she did not mention my bee art activism but the native bee specialist confirmed everything I have been saying. And yes It is alarming. Knowledge is power. - plant native non hybrid plants, blue, purple, yellow and white primarily. Starting the conversation with art activism.

her awesome article is below.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/gardening/article/Your-Houston-garden-needs-native-bees-15287310.php

Rumblings-Augochloropsis anonyma

In the past years blogging about my art practice was something I did everyday. It is how I document ny work. Then I started focusing on bees and their role in urban environments. Idecide to post a cool fact about native bees in my daily art post. Researching what fact to post bees has been like falling through the looking glass. I like to really get into whatever it is I am getting into. As a result the summer of 2019 Curtis and I binged watched bee documentaries. Sadly these are all about honey bees. I read every article that pops up on bees. I am constantly amazed at how much is unknown about this everyday insect. It has been so overwhelming I stopped posting information about the bees. I just could not pick just one cool thing to post a day.

There is very little information available about the Augochloropsis anonyma which is very frustrating. They are a sweat bee and there is a fair amount known about the sweat bees; they are a brilliant metallic blue-green color and one of the 140 members of the Halictidae family.
The earned the nickname sweat bees because they are attracted to sweat. With this information it is good to know they are not aggressive. They will only sting if you press them into your skin. If you are studying bees or garden and don’t want them to land on you wipe off the sweat and they will leave you alone. Please don’t hurt them. They are essential wild native bees.

You have probably seen one flying around wildflowers and various crops, including stone fruits, alfalfa and sunflowers but did not know you were seeing a bee. They are known as generalist and will pollinate almost anything. These bees fly under the radar, Being extremely tiny they measure only 0.125 to 0.5 inches in length they. You have to keep your eye out to notice this keystone creature.

Besides being generalist I see them as important because Augochloropsis anonyma adults have a long window of activity, and produce more than two generations of offspring a year. They are active between April and September in the northern portion of their range and year-round in its southern range. Having this long window of activity makes this species more likely to forage from a large number of different plants.

Stitching a Sweat bee and incorporating time and movement

Another day of social distancing and not being able to get in my studio. Today's stitching, I added the first of several sweat bees. In reality, they are only about 1/4 ” long. They have beautiful metallic greens and blues. I am working to show more time and movement in my stitching.

I added a tiny sweat bee - he is moving fast and as a result blurry

First I cut some thread of the colors I want the bee to be.

Next I wad them up into a cocoon.

Then I untangle them into the shape of the movement of a bee.

Then I stitch them into the shape of the movement.

Sweat bees

I have had several people text me or Dm me to tell me about the bees they have seen this spring. That they are looking for bees during their Coronavirus afternoon walks. Some have was even said they would have killed the bees, except they knew I would not have been happy and that they need to protect the bees. It is so lovely to hear about these sightings. Thank you for the feedback- the role of an environmental activist artist can be frustrating at times. This feedback is inspiring. I love this native bee. Did you know this minuscule creature buzzing your native plants is a bee? I think it is a sweat bee part of the Halictidae family. There are 4,000 native bees and hard to identify. The Halictidae is the second largest family of Apoidea bees. Halictid species occur all over the world and are usually dark-colored and often metallic in appearance. With a macro lens, their colors are amazing. Several species are all or partly green, and a few are red; a number of them have yellow markings, especially the males, which commonly possess yellow faces, a pattern widespread among the various families of bees. (Source: Wikipedia, Halictidae, CC BY-SA 3.0) They are tough to photograph as they are swift and only about 1/4” - such a beautiful creature. Aren’t they cool.

Zoomed in

This gives you an idea how tiny these are.