{"product_id":"our-fate-is-tied-to-that-of-the-insects","title":"Our Fate is Tied To That of the Insects","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLino block print with chine collé on paper.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e16x20x1\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited edition 6 of 10.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI made the first in this series for an art show called Manufactured Ecosystems about the future of pollination.\r\u003cbr\u003e\r\u003cbr\u003eThinking about the future of pollination and seeking solutions from technological and nature-based knowledge. This is essentially my conclusion: we can aid our beleaguered pollinators with technology but their continued success is vital. We need to foster the insects to keep ecosystems functioning. A large percentage of the food we eat depends directly on pollinators. They serve many plants and play important roles in food webs. Pollination makes plants that we and wildlife use for shelter, fuel and which moderate temperature and of course, produce oxygen we need to breathe. Natural habitats around us could not exist without them. Our fate is tied to that of the insects.\r\u003cbr\u003e\r\u003cbr\u003eThese insects are native bees, moths, butterflies and a beetle, vital to the ecosystem in which I live. Clockwise from top: two leaf cutter bees (Megachile relativa and M. brevis), the Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis), the Virgin Tiger moth (Apantesis virgo), an Isabella’s Longwings butterfly (Nymphalidae Eueides isabella), a blue orchard mason bee (Osmia lignaria), a firefly (Photinus pyralis), the rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), a white underwing moth (Catocala relicta), an eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica), a sweat bee (Agapostemon sericeus), a hummingbird clearwing moth (Hermaris thysbe), the common eastern bumblebee (B. impatiens), a long-horned bee (Melissodes sp.), a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and centre: eastern snail-shell nesting bee (O. conjuncta).\r\u003cbr\u003e\r\u003cbr\u003eThere are ~20,000 different bee species in the world. Here in Ontario we have at least 400 native bees (none of which are the honeybees, which are from Europe). Bees are key to pollination. According to the UN nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops. Further, worldwide ~35% of invertebrate pollinators, especially bees \u0026amp; face extinction.\r\u003cbr\u003e\r\u003cbr\u003eThe goal is to strengthen protections for bees to help protect food security \u0026amp; biodiversity. Something that gives me hope is seeing how much of a difference individuals are making: making pollinator gardens, planting native species, protecting ecosystems and spreading knowledge. These are things even the very young can do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ele Willoughby","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44255238750311,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1784562609_12234.jpg?v=1784562625","url":"https:\/\/helloart.com\/products\/our-fate-is-tied-to-that-of-the-insects","provider":"helloart","version":"1.0","type":"link"}