About

Introduction

1000 Bees is an App that showcases and celebrates the diversity of bees across the globe.

1000 beautiful, high-resolution images of individual bees have been taken from some of the most acclaimed museum and research collections in the world, including the Natural History Museum, London, the Hope Entomological Collection at Oxford University, and the Linnean Society of London.

We are also drawing data about the species from Discoverlife.org and additional images from USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab.

Although often used by scientists, many of these specimens have rarely been seen by the general public. 1000 Bees takes these specimens out of their cabinets and puts them on display, making them available for anyone to discover, view and explore on an iOS device.

A beautiful collection of bees, on your phone or tablet

1000 Bees will be freely available to download as an app for anyone with an iPad or iPhone.

The app has a very special interface and a number of nifty features that we're excited to announce:

View the entire collection in two unique ways

You can view the collection either one bee at a time, or as a succession of images that transform the collection into an animated film! Drawing inspiration from experimental film techniques, Callum will create a ‘director’s cut’ of the collection that animates these 1000 species and brings these bees to 'life'.

Create your own film to view and enjoy.

1000 Bees lets you generate your own film by applying a range of filters to the collection. You can sort and sequence the collection by scientific name, size, colour, nesting behaviours, geographic distribution, level of ecological threat and more to generate a film that you can view and enjoy. Can you see any patterns?

Explore every bee, up close.

Every single bee featured in this app has been photographed under a microscope using a special technique called 'photo montaging'. This technique allows a scientist to stitch together several images of the same bee- allowing for an up-close, macro photograph that retains all the detail of the bee.

1000 Bees will present each specimen beautifully: every bee will be shown in high resolution with exploration as simple as a pinch zoom.

Discover the stories behind individual bee species.

You'll be able to access information on every single bee species featured in the app, including its scientific name, classification and geographic distribution. In addition, our Science Consultant and Writer, Chris O'Toole will writing about 50 of the most fascinating and important bee species, sharing the stories behind some of these most intriguing bees with us.

About the team

About us: Ana Tiquia and Callum Cooper

Watch a short film on why we feel this project is so important.

We're a producer and artist/ director team. We have been working on 1000 Bees for the past two years; a project that was born out of the desire to create an interactive project that looked at bees and biodiversity.

Ana is a creative producer and has a wealth of experience producing digital projects: from large scale interactive exhibitions to award-winning apps.

Callum is an experienced moving image artist and film director, his projects have screened at film festivals such as Sundance and his work has been exhibited at institutions such as MOMA, NYC.

Meet Sennep, our Developers

Meet Chris O'Toole, our Science Consultant & Writer

Visit the collection at the Natural History Museum, London

We need your help!

With your help, we can develop this project and make it freely available for anyone to download around the world.

We've been granted access to some of the largest and most acclaimed collections of bees in the world and we've completed an initial design for the project.

All we need now is to raise funds so that we can develop the project for iOS devices, and to bring our developers, designers and science consultant on board to work with us.

Funding is needed for the following costs:

Rewards

For a pledge of £2, you'll receive first notice of when 1000 Bees launches on the App Store so you can download it immediately.

For £10 we have a range of exclusive, bee-inspired original artworks from a range of artists, available as digital wallpapers for your iPad, iPhone or computer desktop... as well as be notification to download the moment the app launches on the App store.

Pledge £15 and receive a bundle of all our artist digital wallpapers! as well as well as notification to download.

Artworks have been contributed by: Jean Jullien, Mikey Please, Jonny Wan, Harriet Russell, Sophie Illustrates, Éric Tourneret, Marc Martin

Illustration by Marc Martin inspired by Thyreus lugubris, our 'Domino Cloak & Dagger Bee'

Illustration from Sophie Illustrates, inspired by Melissodes (Heliomelissodes) desponsa, who specialize on the pollen of thistle flowers.

Photos by Éric Tourneret. Laptop shows a Himalayan honey hunter in Nepal, harvesting honey from the giant honeycombs of the Himalayan Honeybee. iPad shows the Sacred Mayan Honeybee, Melipona beecheii

For a pledge of £25 you receive your name in the credits of the app! As well as all the artist wallpapers and first notification to download.

For £50 or more you can sponsor one of the bees featured in the app, and have your name credited as a sponsor alongside it, with up to 4 others.

PLUS you'll receive one of our fantastic Interactive Postcards!

For £100 or more you will become the sole sponsor of one of the bees in the app, and receive a credit alongside it.

PLUS you'll receive a beautiful, A2 full colour poster!

Below is one we framed, the images in this poster are courtesy of our partners at USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab they have used military camera technology to present some of the most compelling bee images.

A2 Poster with images courtesy of the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab

We are making 36 individual, specially chosen bee species available for single backers of the project. We have four, tiered patronage packages available for sponsoring some of the rarest and most interesting individual bee species in 1000 Bees.

For £250 or more you receive our Amber Sponsorship Package. This includes every other reward available to smaller backers of the project PLUS: sole sponsorship of one of 18 of our ‘top 36 bees’ and a credit alongside this species in the app.

1. The Desert Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

From the deserts of Sudan comes Megachile albescens, a solitary leafcutter bee. Like many bees from extreme desert habitats, it is covered in dense, pale hairs.

2. The Eastern Honeybee

Meet one of Asia's honeybee- indigenous to Southern and South-East Asia, and found in China, Pakistan, India, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands!

3. The North African Longhorn bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Found in North Africa, Eucera cintella are solitary mining bees, notable for the males’ long antennae. These bees are called long-horned bees due to their elongate antennae - females have antennae of a normal length. Much less is known about the antennae of bees other than honeybees, however length of antennae is almost certainly related to mate seeking

4. The First Bee of Spring

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Andrena nigroaena is the early bird...(well, bee) of the bee family. One of the first bees to appear in Spring, Andrena nigroaenea females get in there first, gathering pollen from a wide range of spring and early summer flowers.

5. The Eeyore Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Like A.A. Milne’s character Eeyore, this bee is a lover of thistles. Melissodes (Heliomelissodes) desponsa are solitary mining bees, found throughout North America. The females specialise on the pollen of thistle species in the genus Cirsium.

6. Long-horned Indian Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This bee with exceptionally long antennae is the Tetralonia punjabensis, a solitary mining bee found only in India.

7. The Perfumed Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Solitary mining bee, Centris (Hemisella) nitida can be found across central and South America, and has recently been naturalised in Florida. Females collect oils from the flowers of 8 different species of the tropical Malpighiaceae flower.

8. The Mysterious Sub-Saharan Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Coelioxys torrida is a striking, mysterious cuckoo bee that can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Very little is know about this species or its host. The majority of of Coelioxys spp. are cuckoos in the nests of leafcutter bees, Megachile, with some parasitizing the nests of other bees in the Megachilidae and a few whose hosts are in the Apidae or the orchid bee genus Euglossa.

9. A Dwalf Indian Carpenter Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This dwarf carpenter bee, Ceratina demotica is found in India. Carpenter bees excavate their nests in plant structures; this little bee likes to nest in the dead, pithy stems of plants. Most species live in the tropics or warm temperate regions, and some species of Ceratina are sub-social, where the female remains within the nest and guards her developing offspring from parasites and predators such as spiders or earwigs.

10. The South American Giant

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This South American giant is one of the 29 species of bee from the subgenus Schonnherria, some of the largest of all bees in the world. Xylocopa simillima is found in Peru, Boliva, Brazil and Argentina. A large carpenter bee, it excavates its nest in solid wood.

11. Giant Malay Carpenter Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This impressive specimen was collected by Alfred Russel Wallace on the island of Timor. The Xylocopa perforator belongs to the Mesotrichia- a subgenus of very large bee species found in Asia. The male of this species, pictured, has very large eyes, which nearly meet on the top of the head. This feature is often associated with males that are aggressively territorial as part of their mate seeking behavior.

12. The 212 Year-Old Leafcutter Bee!

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

One of the oldest bee specimens to be featured in 1000 Bees, this female Megachile willughbiella bee was collected at least 212 years ago!

Megachile willughbiella is a solitary leafcutter bee- it nests in pre-existing cavities such as beetle borings in dead wood or hollow plant stems, sealing its nest with cut pieces of leaf. This species is widespread and common in much of Europe, including the UK. It is also found in Canada and northern USA.

13. The Mysterious Cuckoo Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This mysterious bee is a cuckoo in the nests of oil-collecting solitary mining bees from the same genus as our 'Brazil Nut Bee', Epicharis conica (see below). Little is known about this exact species however, and the host species of Rathymus quadriplagiata remains unknown.

14. A Brazil Nut Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Females of this solitary mining bee collect oils from a range of plants which offer this reward to pollinators. Species of Epicharis and the related oil-collecting genus, Centris are, together with the orchid bees (See Euglossa and Eulaema) key components of the guild of pollinators which help maintain the tropical forests of Central and South America. Females of Epicharis conica also pollinate the economically important Brazil Nut, Bertholettia excelsa.

15. The Kickstarter Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

We've nicknamed this bee the 'Kickstarter Bee' as Halictus farinosus are social mining bees that work together to get the job done, in an organised but non-hierarchal way!

Scientists describe these bees as being 'primitively eusocial', meaning that there is at least some overlap of generations sharing a nest, with some females behaving as egg-laying queens, others forming a worker caste, which is responsible for pollen and nectar-gathering and excavating brood cells. However, unlike highly eusocial species such as the honeybees, Apis spp., there are hardly any major differences in structure between queens and workers.

16. Daisy Dukes

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

The females of daisy-loving species Andrena simplex specialize in collecting the pollen of members of the daisy family (Asteraceae). Particular favourites include species of Aster and Solidago (Goldenrods). Andrena simplex can be found in the Eastern areas of the USA.

17. The Fast-Flyer

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

From Malawi comes this solitary mining bee. Found in Central and Southern Africa, Amegilla grandiceps is has a rapid rapid, darting flight, like all species of Amegilla. The species belongs to a group in which the adults are active from August through to May.

18. The V.I.Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Females of this little bee demand exclusive access to its favourite flowers and always wants to be first in, best served! Lasioglossum zephyrum have been observed forcing open unbloomed flowers of the endangered Tennessee yellow-eyed grass, Xyris tennesseensis to extract the pollen, to ensure first and exclusive access.

Be listed as one of the project patrons on the main page of the app! Mockup showing the title page for 1000 Bees

For £500 or more you receive our Silver Patron package. This includes every other reward available to smaller backers of the project PLUS: sponsorship of one of 10 of our ‘top 36 bees’, a special patron credit on the title screen of the app, and a limited edition poster.

19. Himalayan Cliff Hanger Bees

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

The Giant Himalayan Honeybee Apis labriosa is the largest honeybee in the world. Found in the high mountains of Nepal, Bhutan, India and China, Apis labriosa are greatly valued by the Gurung tribespeople of Nepal for their honey. Apis labriosa nest on steep, south-west facing cliffs, which makes harvesting of honey a difficult and often treacherous task.

20. South American Tunnelling Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Like the sponsor of this species, the stunning Oxaea festiva digs deep!

A solitary mining bee, females of the eight species of Oxaea nest in flat ground, and, according to species, excavate a deep vertical tunnel between 30-245cm deep. Horizontal tunnels radiate out from the end of the main shaft, each ending in a vertical cell lined with a waxy film.

21. The Domino Cloak and Dagger bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This striking, domino patterned bee is a cuckoo bee which preys on the nests of Amegilla bombiformis, the Teddy Bear Bee. Like other cuckoo bees, Thyreus lugubris employs stealthy measures to raise its young. Females of this species lay their eggs in the nests of other bees. Typically, a female finds a host nest, waits until a Amegilla bombiformis female leaves, then lays an egg in the open cell.

The cuckoo larva eats the host’s egg and then feeds on the stored pollen-honey mixture. Because female cuckoo bees do not have to collect pollen, they have lost pollen transporting structures – pollen brush (scopa) or pollen basket (corbiculum).

22. Europe’s pickiest eater

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Female Melitta tricincta bees specialise on the pollen of the Red Bartsia, a common plant throughout Europe. This solitary mining bee can be found as far east as Russia, however it is a rare bee, considered endangered in much of Europe. Melitta tricincta bees are picky eaters- the females collect pollen only from the Red Bartsia flower and both males and females visit the plant for nectar.

23. One of Our Oldest Bees: Gooden’s Nomad Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This specimen of Gooden’s Nomad Bee was described by early entomologist William Kirby in 1802. At least 212 years old, this is one of the oldest specimens featured in 1000 Bees. Reverend William Kirby (1759-1850) was an English country parson and naturalist and is considered the ‘British founder of entomology’.

24. A Saudi Arabian Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

A new addition, Colletes guichardi is a very recently described species. Like all mining or digger bees, Colletes guichardi females excavate their nests in the ground. This bee is currently known only from Saudi Arabia.

25. The Big Emerald Australian Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Australia has lots of big things: the Big Mango, the Big Prawn, the Big Merino Sheep amongst others. Add this to its collection: the big, emerald bee: Ctenocolletes smaragdinus, found across Central and South-Western Australia. What a beauty!

26. The Japanese Apple Orchard Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Meet Osmia taurus, an important managed pollinator in Japanese apple orchards. Found throughout China and Japan, Osmia taurus are mason bees that use mud to construct the walls of their nests. This species has recently been introduced into North-Eastern US to be used as an orchard pollinator.

27. The Giant Madagascan Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

One of the largest solitary mining bees in the world, Pachymelas (Pachymelas) micrelephas can only be found on the island of Madagascar. Females of this species have unusually long mandibles, the function of which still remains unknown to scientists.

28. The Lowrider

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

A nocturnal bee, Xylocopa lanata is found in the desert areas of the Middle East and Central Asian steppe-deserts. The pale-faced males, such as this one, cruise low over the nest sites at nighttime in search of females. This carpenter bee is an anomaly; unlike most carpenter bees who nest in solid wood, Xylocopa lanata prefers to nest in the ground.

For £1000 or more you receive our Gold Patron package. This includes every other reward available to smaller backers of the project PLUS: sole sponsorship of one of 5 of our ‘top 36 bees’, a special patron credit on the title screen of the app, a limited edition poster AND you can Beta test the app!

29. The Sacred Mayan Honeybee

Image courtesy of DiscoverLife/RicardoAyala

Worshipped and highly valued in Mayan culture, the stingless Mayan honeybee Melipona beecheii is now considered endangered. Found in Mexico and Central America, the Mayan honeybee also played another important role in American history: Melipona beecheii were the source of the honey given to Columbus by Native Americans when he landed in Hispaniola. Today Mayan honeybees are still kept in traditional log hives and used as a source of honey.

30. To Bee or Not to Queen Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This beautiful metallic sweat bee can be found from Tropical Mexico to Brazil and nests in rotting wood or pithy stems. Megalopta genalis bees are considered a ‘faculatively communal’ species. Female bees can either live as solitary, independent queens who go out to forage for their own food, or they can be social queens- “stay at home mums” whose daughters go out to forage for them, so that they rarely have to leave the nest.

31. The Leggiest Bee in the World

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Females of the leggy Rediviva emdeorum species have the longest forelegs of any known bee species. Females of Rediviva emdeorum collect oil from the twin tubular spurs of flowers of Diascia tanyceras, using their elongated legs to probe the spurs of the plant’s flowers. Found across the winter rainfall areas of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, Rediviva emdeorum and its habitat are both highly threatened by climate change.

32. The Optical Illusion Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This splendid, metallic, solitary mining bee can be found across Canada, USA and Northern Mexico. Some species in almost all bee families have metallic colouration. The metallic colours – blue, green, red, or gold, or combinations of these - are not the result of pigments in the cuticle. Instead, they are structural colours, caused by ultra-microscopic structuring in the cuticle. This scatters or refracts different wavelengths of light so that metallic colours of particular wavelengths are reflected.

33. The Teddy Bear Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

This cuddly looking bee is commonly found in gardens in Australia. Amegilla bombiformis or Teddy Bear Bee, has been described as looking like “a furry golden ball hanging in the air” when in flight. A solitary mining bee, the species name bombiformis refers to its similarity in appearance to bumblebees (Bombus spp.), which are not native to Australia.

Receive one of three signed copies of Chris O'Toole's book when you become a major patron of 1000 Bees

For £3000 or more you receive our Platinum Patron package. This includes every other reward available to smaller backers of the project PLUS: sole sponsorship of one of 3 of our ‘top 36’ species, a major patron credit on the title screen of the app, limited edition poster, Beta testing of the app, a Skype call with the creators of the project, and a special signed copy of Chris O’Toole’s Book, Bees: A Natural History.

The Largest and Most Mysterious Bee

Image courtesy of the Hope Entomological Collections, Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Found in 1868 on the Indonesian island of Bachan by the great 19th Century naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, the gigantic Megachile (Chalicodoma) pluto is one of the largest known species of bee in the world. With a wingspan of 2.5 inches, a length of 1.53 inches and huge mandibles used to tap resin from trees, this is a truly formidable bee!

This is a truly unique specimen- This is the unique specimen that Frederick Smith used for his original description of the species published in 1869. Little was known about Wallace’s Giant Mason Bee until the 1980’s when American entomologist Adam Messer discovered a population on this and another Indonesian island, Halmahera.

2. Linnaeus’ Honeybee

Image courtesy of the Linnean Society of London

The Western Honeybee is our most iconic bee; the species most of us think of when we think of bees. As well as producing delicious honey, the Western Honeybee is used as a managed pollinator for many of Europe and North America’s agricultural crops.

This particular specimen is extremely special- it was collected by Carl Linneaus in 1758. Linneus was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, physicist and one of the most influential scientists in history. He is often referred to as the ‘father of taxonomy’.

3. The Orchid & Brazil Nut Bee

Image courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London

Meet Euglossa ignita, a very special species of bee. It’s described as an orchid bee as males of this species (as pictured above) collect perfumed oil from orchids, which they store in spongy tissue inside their highly modified hind legs. Females of some species of Euglossa, together with other large bees are pollinators of Brazil Nuts