Kathryn Busby

• 1
• 8

• 

This is a #scratchboard drawing I did as part of a series on plants in the asparagus family, Asparagaceae. This one is Agave--yes, like the kind you would use to make a tequila #sour. #inktober2021 #inktober

21/10/12 02:30

• 0
• 4

• 

Happy Scratch-urday! I'm not doing #inktober2021 because it's too much #pressure, #inktober, 😂 but I have been working on a short series of #scratchboard drawings of plants in the asaparagus family (Asparagaceae). This one is Dasylirion wheeleri, a.k.a. "Desert Spoon."

21/10/10 02:11

• 1
• 9

• 

#inktober2020 Day 33 - Last one! This is Andrena primulifrons. This genus is sometimes known as the #mining bees because of the nest tunnels they excavate. Today's and yesterday's illustrations were drawn with the aid of a camera lucida. It's really fun! #inktober #bees #mine

20/11/03 04:18

• 3
• 13

• 

#inktober2020 Bonus Day 32 - Lithurgopsis echinocactus specializes on #cactus pollen. These #bees also have a unique nesting habit of packing a ton of lined chambers throughout a woody substrate. They are often found nesting next door to Xylocopa. Yes, I know #inktober is over.

20/11/02 01:28

• 0
• 5

• 

#inktober2020day31 - Normally it would be strange for an ant to #crawl on a #bee. But these two specimens have been immortalized together forever in death by fate and ethanol. Is that Halloween enough? #inktober #inktober2020 #bees

20/11/01 13:38

• 1
• 8

• 

#inktober2020day30 - This abstraction based on the mandibles of #bee genus Anthidium turned out kind of #ominous--reminds me of the horse from Guernica. This all arose from the abstraction. The real genus is quite nonthreatening. #inktober #bees #inktober2020

20/10/31 15:30

• 0
• 7

• 

#inktober2020day29 - Some groups of #bees, including Diadasia, have arolia--foot pads that function like technical #shoes. These structures are thought to help bees hang on to surfaces, and they also leave behind communicative chemical footprints. #inktober #inktober2020

20/10/30 14:56

• 4
• 17

• 

#inktober2020day28 - "#float like a butterfly, sting like a #bee." Tiny Atoposmia certainly does both. #inktober #inktober2020 #bees #inktober2020day28float

20/10/29 12:32

• 2
• 16

• 

#inktober2020day27 - There's lots of #music inspired by #bees. I can think of two Bombus songs: "The Flight of the Bumble Bee," and "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee." That second one always seemed strange to me--why would they take home a larva?😜 #inktober #inktober2020

20/10/28 16:17

• 2
• 11

• 

#inktober2020day26 - Megachile #bees cut leaf circles with their mandibles, and use them to line tunnels where they #hide their babies. #inktober #inktober2020 #inktober2020day26hide

20/10/27 15:01

• 1
• 7

• 

#inktober2020day25 - With friends like Strepsiptera, who needs enemies? A #buddy like that could really get under your skin! 😂🤣 Jokes aside though, Strepsiptera are an order of tiny insects that hitch a ride under the abdominal segments of #bees and wasps. #inktober

20/10/26 14:57

• 2
• 8

• 

#inktober2020day24 - 80% of #bees nest in tunnels they #dig in the ground. It's thought that the spikes on their legs, known as tibial spurs, are used to move around in the nest and construct the tunnels. #inktober #inktober2020 #inktober2020day24dig

20/10/25 13:11

• 0
• 6

• 

#inktober2020day23 - The reason honey #bees (Apis mellifera) can only sting once? Because their barbed stinger hooks into your skin, causing the whole apparatus to #rip out of the bee's body. The venom sac and musculature come out too, so the venom keeps pumping. #inktober2020

20/10/24 13:06

• 2
• 8

• 

#inktober2020day22 - #bees like this Tetraloniella collect pollen in basket-like hairs on their legs. Later they mix in nectar and enzymes and roll it into a patty called bee bread for their babies. Who knew a bee could be such a #chef? #inktober #inktober2020 #inktober2020chef

20/10/23 11:12

• 2
• 13

• 

#inktober2020day21 - Many genera of #bees #sleep clinging to blades of grass or twigs with their mandibles. Sometimes they also sleep inside flowers. You can find them in the early mornings and it's really cute. #inktober2020 #inktober #inktobersleep

20/10/22 03:32

• 0
• 7

• 

#inktober2020day20 - The pectinate hind tibial spur of Lasioglossum looks like a branch of #coral. #inktober2020 #inktober #bees

20/10/21 02:31

• 0
• 8

• 

#inktober2020day19 - Melissodes males have extremely long antennae, which with a turn of the head made this one look #dizzy. The spiral on the thorax is only imagined. #inktober #inktober2020 #bees

20/10/19 22:35

• 0
• 6

• 

#inktober2020day18 - Bees that nest in found cavities, like this Osmia, are often referred to as #trap -nesting. #inktober2020 #inktober2020 #bees

20/10/19 11:08

• 0
• 7

• 

#inktober2020day17 - When the nesting season starts for Diadasia rinconis, it looks to the casual viewer like a #storm made of bees. A scary thought maybe, but the storm is mostly made up of males, who cannot sting. #inktober2020 #inktober #bees

20/10/17 22:29

• 1
• 9

• 

#inktober2020day16 - Centris is one of the zippiest #bees, which makes sense because she's built like a #rocket. #inktober #inktober2020

20/10/17 15:28

• 0
• 2

• 

#inktober2020day15 - Xylocopa varipuncta males participate in a lek, an #outpost on a hilltop or other high point (maybe even a tall building) where they gather and compete for mates. #inktober #inktober2020 #bees

20/10/16 14:55

• 0
• 3

• 

#inktober2020day14 - All bees' exoskeletons serve as a suit of #armor, and the abdominal segments can telescope in and out. This illustration is based on Centris. #inktober2020 #inktober2020day14armor #inktober #bees

20/10/15 01:39

• 0
• 4

• 

#inktober2020day13 - Xenoglossa has a protruding clypeus, like a big #dune on its head. To humans it resembles a big nose. They also have huge compound eyes and ocelli, which help them fly in the dark of early morning. #inktober #inktober2020 #inktober2020day13dune #bees

20/10/14 03:32

• 0
• 8

• 

#inktober2020day12 - Under all the fluff, many bees have a shiny, #slippery appearance to their thorax. #inktober #inktober2020

20/10/13 03:42

• 0
• 2

• 

#inktober2020day11 - This has been the most difficult prompt yet, because after looking at a lot of bees up close, I can't find anything #disgusting about them. So today I went opposite the prompt. Ceratina's integument looks like the night sky. #inktober2020 #inktober #bees

20/10/12 12:50