An offering. As part of a pollinator population field study, a researcher attracts orchid bees (Euglossini) to her wrist using a custom fragrance comprised of essential oils derived from local, fragrant plants. These bees are aesthetically and conceptually fascinating because they—like us—adorn their body with scent to attract mates. Furthermore, each individual insect concocts its own signature scent. For researchers, this behavior enables deep insights into the local rainforest ecology. Using these scent-based population studies, entomologists, botanists, and ecologists can study the distribution of pollinators—and their plant partner species—throughout the rainforest.

Telling of the Bees

2019—Present International

What we have, we owe to bees. Among the most prolific pollinators on the planet, bees helped create and maintain the biodiverse ecosystems that made it possible for humanity to take root and grow. Over millions of years, our shared evolution has grown increasingly intertwined. And today, human activity is impacting wild and domesticated bee populations in unprecedented ways. Due to the integral role bees play in supporting the ecosystems we depend on, this ongoing relationship affects us all: bee, human, and otherwise.

Admittedly, I hadn’t always understood or appreciated the inherent interdependence between people and bees. In fact, I was terrified of them as a boy. But what was once an irrational fear of bees has since transformed into an existential fear for bees—and, by extension, for the ecologies we all share. And now I wonder: if we look closer at our relationships with these magnificent pollinators, what might we learn about our responsibilities to all other-than-human beings?

To help imagine new ways to address our unfolding ecological crises, Telling of the Bees explores the ethical and ecological relationships between people and bees. More specifically, this evolving body of work considers the opportunities and implications of these interspecies interactions as they manifest across industry, agriculture, ecological research, environmental conservation, human healthcare, bioengineering, and spirituality.

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Solitary longhorn bee in the prairie. A lone, male Longhorn bee slowly awakens in the dedicated native prairie and pollinator plot planted at the Meredith Community Garden in the heart of Houston, TX. Due to the growing adverse impact of monocropping and pesticide use in rural areas, urban centers like Houston are increasingly becoming refuges for insect biodiversity.

Melissodes bidentis. A researcher in the Texas A&M University entomology department positions a specimen (Melissodes bidentis) under the digital microscope to study the species’ behavior, distribution, and ecological interactions.

Identifying bee specimens. The curator of the entomology collection at Texas A&M positions a specimen (Melissodes bidentis) under the digital microscope to study the species’ behavior, distribution, and ecological interactions. In particular, this study analyzes the pollen found still clinging to specialized collection hairs on its legs in order to identify the plants it frequents for food. Once those plants are identified, the researchers then study the bee’s morphology in relation to that of its favored plants to better understand the extent to which bees and plants co-evolve—as well as how they might continue to adapt to changing environmental and ecological circumstances into the future.

Cataloging fresh bee specimens. The curator of the entomology collection at Texas A&M conducts morphological and taxonomic research of newly arrived bee specimens from the American Southwest. This work is essential in developing a more thorough understanding of bee species diversity as well as their respective distribution and population densities across various geographic and climatic regions. Naturally, this research also seeks to identify any new and otherwise undiscovered bee species that may emerge to better understand how bees evolve and adapt to their environment.

Bee specimen drawer. A small sample of the millions of bee specimens contained in the entomology collection at Texas A&M University. In addition to supporting ongoing entomological, botanical, and ecological research, this comprehensive library also provides an increasingly rare opportunity to study threatened and endangered species, many of whom are experiencing incredible population decline due to the unfolding impacts of climate change, habitat loss, pesticides (particularly neonicotinoids), and other challenges.

To consider

What are our environmental and ethical responsibilities to bees? And what are their responsibilities to—and because of—us?

Smoking the hive. A commercial beekeeper uses smoke to calm a 'spicy' beehive during a honey harvest. As a practice that dates back to antiquity, smoking the hive serves to suppress the defensive instincts of the honey bees, ideally allowing beekeepers to open, look over, and intervene in the hive without being attacked.

Parasite test. Two honey bees crawl upward following a mite test administered in order to monitor the presence and population of parasites that can adversely affect the health of the hive. During this process, a beekeeper submerges a sample of 200–300 honey bees into a lethal alcohol solution that kills the bees as well as any parasites that might be attached to them. Even if the bees survive the initial dip during this procedure, the dunk into the alcohol is always terminal.

Teeming hive. A beekeeper works to gently replace a box on top of a teeming honey bee hive, but with so much activity, not all bees are able to successfully get out of the way.

Calming a spicy hive. Using smoke, a beekeeper works to calm and check on the health of a backyard honey bee hive.

Beehive smoker. Smoke billows from a smoker sitting on top of a backyard beehive in an apiary.

The bunker. An original protest poster hangs an underground bunker where Petro Shaliyevskiy—beekeeper, activist, and Head of the Kyiv Oblast Natural Beekeeping Association—coordinates anti-pesticide demonstrations, environmental policy initiatives, and community education events throughout Ukraine to encourage more ecologically oriented farming practices. In the next room, a large and cavernous space awaits dozens of honey bee hives, which he brings in each winter to ‘hibernate’ in an effort to reduce the impact of the seasonal ‘dearth’ (or die off) of bees due to the cold temperatures and lack of flowering plants during the cold season.

Petro with his bees. Petro Shaliyevskiy, head of the Kyiv Oblast Natural Beekeeping Association, takes a breath while checking on the health of some of his many hives throughout the region. A staunch critic of the ecological impact of monocropping and pesticide use, he advocates to encourage farmers and policymakers throughout Ukraine to adopt more environmentally friendly practices, from in-person demonstrations to organized protests around the country.

Homemade honey wine. Friends share homemade honey wine (similar to mead) during a summer picnic in a village beekeeper’s orchard and apiary.

apitherapy

ā-pi-ˈther-ə-pē
the use of substances produced by honeybees (such as venom, propolis, or honey) to treat various medical conditions in humans

A patient looks on as her therapist works to secure a honey bee during an apitherapy treatment. In Bee Venom Therapy (BVT), the patient is injected with apitoxin (bee venom), through live bee stings or lab-extracted solutions delivered by syringe. All methods of venom extraction are lethal to the bee. Bellaire, TX. 2019

Manually extracting a honey bee stinger. An apitherapist uses tweezers to harvest the stinger from an uncooperative honey bee during a Bee Venom Therapy (BVT) session. As honey bee stingers are attached to their vital internal organs, all methods of extracting venom are lethal to the bee, which is eviscerated (disemboweled) alive during the process. While Bee Venom Therapy is the only type of apitherapy that utilizes apitoxin, other expressions of this practice rely on various other substances produced by honey bees (e.g., propolis, honey, etc.) to treat various medical conditions in humans.

An apitherapist uses tweezers to harvest the stinger from an uncooperative honey bee during a Bee Venom Therapy (BVT) session. As stingers are attached to the honeybee's vital internal organs, all methods of venom extraction are lethal to the bee, which is eviscerated (disemboweled) alive during the process. Bellaire, TX, 2019

Public pollinator garden. A placard at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft educates visitors about their pollinator garden, specifically planted to include local plant species and habitat for native, solitary bees.

Public pollinator garden. A placard at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft educates visitors about their pollinator garden, specifically planted to include local plant species and habitat for native, solitary bees.

Telling the bees, an etymology

Across cultures, it was once common for people to inform their beehives of important developments in the household, including births, marriages, and deaths. Named in honor of this tradition, this body of work considers how we now choose to live with, alongside, and through bees.

Travel check. A commercial beekeeper looks over his hives shortly before they are loaded onto an 18-wheeler and shipped across the country to monoculture farms throughout Central Valley, CA for the largest orchestrated pollination event in the world.

Dead drone. A dead drone lies beneath the apparatus used to harvest his semen for a genetic experiment at the Honey Bee Lab at Texas A&M University. In order to extract semen from a drone, researchers “pop” him by crushing his thorax between the thumb and pointer finger to forcefully expel his genitals from his abdomen. His semen is then collected using a pipette. After harvesting semen from multiple drones, the same device is used to anesthetize and artificially inseminate queens. In addition to being a standard practice for genetic research in honey bees—as is the case here—this process is also used to commercially breed queens for beekeepers seeking hives with specific genetic traits and behavioral characteristics. More specifically, this genetic experiment seeks to determine how crossbreeding domesticated and wild honey bees might improve hive characteristics, behaviors, and honey production for commercial beekeepers and their clients, which often includes industrial agricultural operations that rely on honey bee colonies to pollinate their crops.

A dead drone lies beneath the apparatus used to harvest his semen for a genetic experiment at the Honey Bee Lab at Texas A&M University. In order to extract semen from a drone, researchers “pop” him by crushing his thorax between the thumb and pointer finger to forcefully expel his genitals from his abdomen. His semen is then collected using a pipette. After harvesting semen from multiple drones, the same device is used to anesthetize and artificially inseminate queens. In addition to being a standard practice for genetic research in honey bees—as is the case here—this process is also used to commercially breed queens for beekeepers seeking hives with specific genetic traits and behavioral characteristics. College Station, TX, 2021

A honey bee alights on a poppy. A honey bee alights on a flowering poppy, which was planted in a dedicated section of a community garden devoted to supporting pollinators. Primarily composed of native and endemic plant varieties—many of which are threatened throughout the Gulf Coast Prairie—gardens like these provide vital food and shelter for pollinators such as solitary bees, who are currently struggling due to ongoing habitat loss and land use change associated with human development. Due in large part to the degradation of landscapes due to industrialized agriculture operations and the associated proliferation of pesticide use in rural areas, cities are emerging as unlikely biodiversity havens for insect pollinators who are more likely to find the nutrients, habitat, and breeding grounds they need in gardens and public greenspaces.