CommuniBee Art Project

CommuniBee Art Project

Bee a part of our CommuniBee Art Project! We're making Rusty-Patched Bumble Bees out of recycled and found objects. This project is meant to bring attention to the blight of all bees, but especially the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee. It's the first bumblebee in the US added to the endangered species list.

Photograph of a sign with instructions for the CommuniBee Art Project. Next to it is a bumblebee decorated with recycled materials.

Take a bee template home. You can get one at the Piqua Public Library or download one from our website (link below). If you pick up a template at the library, check out our Meadow of Recycled Materials for some craft items you can use. 

Photograph of a table with instructions for the CommuniBee Art Project. Next to it is a bumblebee template and a box of recycled items to be used as craft supplies.

Cut out your bee and decorate it using things you would normally throw away, like junk mail, old magazines, or paint chip samples. Bee creative but don't make your bee too heavy or use dirty materials.

Photograph of a black display board with a yellow sign on it for the CommuniBee Art Project.

When you finish your bee, please bring it back to the Piqua Public Library. You can put it in the Nest, and one of our staff members will add it to our display board.

Photograph of a table with a cardboard box with a bumblebee nest on it. Next to it is pile of pollinator gardening pamphlets.

Our first Community Art Project involved making over 100 red poppies to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I in 2018. 

Photograph of a black display board covered with red poppies made from paper and crocheted yarn.

In addition to our recycled bees, the CommuniBee Art Project will include bee poetry and bee facts. 

Graphic featuring painted flowers and a poem by Emily Dickinson about bees.

Here are some of our favorite poems about bees. 

Graphic featuring painted flowers and a poem by Isaac Watts about bees.

These are some interesting facts about how bumblebees nest. 

  • Bumblebees do not live in hives like honeybees. They live in nests above or below ground. Most bumblebees live in colonies that may have 50 to 400 bees. 
  • Bumblebee nests are small compared to honeybee hives, which hold about 50,000 bees.
  • Some bumblebees nest in old rodent burrows. Other species make their nests above ground, in thick grass, or holes in trees.
  • Bumblebees do not organize their nest in hexagonal combs like honeybee hives. Bumblebee nests are cozy and a bit messy.

Download your Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee template.