Art Adventures - by Patricia Banks©
Published June 2022 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Mag
Published June 2022 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Mag
What interesting, exciting creatures are to be found in our own back yards! Recently, I photographed what I thought was a wild bee on the luscious, flowering, blackberry brambles that cascade over the fence into our yard. These brambles are a busy place for pollinators of all sorts, but I never expected to see anything but a variety of bees.
When we think of pollinators, we usually think of what we have come to know as a “typical” bee. These honeybees and bumblebees are often seen in lots of nature paintings these days. I decided to paint a more unusual type of bee, one that looked a little different. One that would stimulate interest and awareness but would also demonstrate the wider range of valued pollinators. So, I set aside some time to take photographs in my garden. Well, I wasn’t expecting this …
Back in my studio, while carefully rendering my wild ‘bee’ in oil paint, I decided to consult google images. I needed to understand how my unusual looking ‘bee’ was constructed from different angles. Oh wow! To my surprise, it was a hoverfly!
When we think of pollinators, we usually think of what we have come to know as a “typical” bee. These honeybees and bumblebees are often seen in lots of nature paintings these days. I decided to paint a more unusual type of bee, one that looked a little different. One that would stimulate interest and awareness but would also demonstrate the wider range of valued pollinators. So, I set aside some time to take photographs in my garden. Well, I wasn’t expecting this …
Back in my studio, while carefully rendering my wild ‘bee’ in oil paint, I decided to consult google images. I needed to understand how my unusual looking ‘bee’ was constructed from different angles. Oh wow! To my surprise, it was a hoverfly!
It is one of over 6000 species of hoverflies, to be exact! Among other differences, hoverflies have two wings instead of four, have no stinger, and their eyes are on the sides of their heads like other flies. Some hoverflies take on the look of more ‘scary’ insects to protect themselves, as my hoverfly displayed yellow and black stripes like a bee or wasp. Hoverflies are the second-best pollinators, next to bees. They are called a “farmer’s best friend.” Their young eat aphids exclusively, and the adults are pollinators. That means that hoverflies are an all-around great bug to have in your garden! Who knew? Happy discoveries through painting!
