Easter is just around the corner here in the village, and yes, I’m definitely feeling that Full Moon energy – or maybe it’s just the copious amounts of tea I’ve consumed this week.
My focus outside has been firmly on the bumblebees – my big, fuzzy little garden marauders. Likely because out of the blue, there seems to be so many.
Buzzing about like they own the place (which, let’s be honest, they sort of do).
I was thinking about how much I enjoy watching now. However, when I was little, my mum would literally bolt if she heard a buzzing sound nearby. Her reaction stemmed from a rather unpleasant encounter with a wasp nest when she was a kid herself, and honestly, that initial wariness rubbed off on me for a while.
Thankfully, it is long gone now, and I can truly appreciate just how beautiful, clumsy, and vital they are.
Its the magic of drawing something. It always shifts my perspective and creates a truly different understanding, because you learn the form so completely. You notice the fuzz patterns, the wing veins, the way their little legs hang down. And as my perpetually curious mind wanders while I draw, I inevitably pick up a few fascinating facts along the way too.
This past winter, one particular species I spent a lot of time painting was the Bilberry Bee, scientifically known as Bombus monticola. You find them predominantly in upland areas like parts of the Forest of Bowland, utterly devoted, it seems, to bilberry bushes (hence the name!). While they might not be huge, they are hugely important pollinators, playing a vital role in these specific ecosystems. Imagine, a tiny fuzzy thing solely responsible for ensuring those delicious bilberries appear each year!
These illustrations were created for the Champion Species project. If you’re scratching your head wondering what that is, I’ve actually written an overview post about it before. But, in a nutshell, I’ve been busy creating a series of illustrations featuring some of the amazing, and sometimes overlooked, wildlife found right on my doorstep in the beautiful Forest of Bowland.
These are currently being transformed into a rather lovely collectable pin badge range for the Champion Species Charity. The goal? To help them raise much-needed awareness (and maybe a few pennies!) for these specific critters and 13 other special species that call the Forest home. As of April 2025, they’re not quite ready for your lapels just yet – they’re literally in the process of being manufactured as I type!
