Artist Statement:
I delight in watching bumble bees in my garden as they buzz about. These native pollinators are ideally suited to pollinating tight-flowered plants like tomatoes through “buzz pollination”, i.e. grasping a flower in their mandibles (jaws) and vibrating their wing muscles to dislodge pollen. I am fascinated by how the lives of flowers, pollinators and people are intricately woven. As bumble bees buzz flowers to collect pollen for their nests and to find nectar for their lunch, they ensure that I will have juicy tomatoes for mine. I thank a bumble bee each time I eat a tomato!