"The Hive Series is a set of drawings that I did several years ago when I wanted to start painting about bees and their role as an integral part of our current eco-system.

Populations of bumblebees and other solitary bees have steeply declined in many places, largely because of insecticide and herbicide use, habitat loss, and global warming.  Some species, such as the rusty patched bumblebee, are even listed as endangered species.

If all of the world's bees died off, there would be major rippling effects throughout ecosystems. Without bees, the availability and diversity of fresh produce would decline substantially, and human nutritionwould likely suffer. Crops that would not be cost-effective to hand- or robot-pollinate would likely be lost or persist only with the dedication of human hobbyists.

- Jennifer Klemp St. Louis, MO Fine Artist