"Bees" // The First Bees and Bee-Friendly Flowers

Illustrations for "The Little Book of Bees" commissioned by and published by Harpercollins publishers.

The first part of the book touches on how the very first bees evolved, from early pollinators to how we know them today. The first pollinators were prehistoric beetles and wasps.

I leapt at the opportunity to illustrate the lumbering legs of a stegosaurus alongside one of the very first bees, who is busily pollinating early species of flowers. Illustrating the 'first' bee was a challenge as there is very limited images available of them. I used images of early wasps and photos of early bees trapped in amber for reference. This one would become one of the larger illustrations in the book, spread over two pages.

The first flowering plants included species of waterlilies and magnolia.

A few bee-friendly flowers: cosmos, Californian poppies, sunflowers, blue borage, squash blossoms, certain species of orchid (Myrmecophila Tibicinis), dandelions, foxgloves, blueberry, cherry and 

tomato plant blossoms.

 The Little Book of Bees is published by Harpercollins and Abrams

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2019

www.amyholliday.co.uk