I just wanted to say a few words recommending the work of Valerie Littlewood, a native bees artist who I discovered at the recent London Honey Show.
Her blog can be found at www.pencilandleaf.blogspot.com. It has plenty of information about bumbles and solitary bees as well as photos and her gorgeous illustrations.
I’ve just had her Buzz book delivered, it has an illustration of a different native bee on every other page (15 bees in total) along with accompanying info about the bees’ life. See http://buzzbooknprints.blogspot.com to see inside. The book has a lovely glossy finish. Val sells signed copies for £12.50 plus £1.90.
Did you know the Snailshell Bee existed? The female uses discarded snail shells as nests to lay her eggs in.
Or the Hairy Footed Flower Bee? The males’ extravagantly hairy feet are said to be part of their courtship ritual.
Adventuresinbeeland's Blog 
what a fantastic book to have, maybe someone will give it to me for christmas! never too soon to think about these things you know! c
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He he, you should start subtly dropping a few hints!
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I second that thought – it’s on my wishlist too. What a great link Emily, thanks for posting it. Art and wild bees is a fascinating combination as far as I am concerned and I know that I will be investigating further. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have the talent to produce pictures like that of the wildlife we observe?
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Glad you like her work too. It is nice to have the combination of the beautiful drawings of familiar and not-so-familiar bees along with the information on them.
Another bee artist I like is Louise Bird: http://www.louisebird.co.uk. I was given one of her stunning bumblebees as a present and it’s one of the nicest things I own. She has some bees in a new book called ‘Wildlife in Printmaking’, which features all sorts of animals: http://www.langford-press.co.uk/Wildlife%20in%20Printmaking.htm.
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