I am a mixed media artist from Leicester, with a studio now based in West Yorkshire. All of my art is influenced by both my English and Indian cultures and the natural world.
This series of bumblebee oil paintings reflect both cultures; the Three Queen Bumblebees are native to the UK and Europe and the Three Rani (Rani meaning Queen in Hindi) Bumblebees are native to India and Pakistan.
The series highlights the variety of bumblebees beyond our own English species and the important work they do for biodiversity in the wider world.
While the original oil paintings are not yet for sale, a range of gift cards and giclee art prints are available to buy from my Etsy shop.
- ThisIllusoryLife
- @thisillusorylife
- Leicester, UK
Maya's Works
Three Queen Bumblebees
Garden Bumblebee
Latin: Bombus Hortorum. A common and favourite bumblebee, one we all think of when we think Bumblebee. She is the main pollinator of Foxgloves in early summer and found in gardens all over the country.
Red-Tailed Bumblebee
Latin: Bombus Lapidarius. Another very common bumblebee in the UK and an important pollinator of most plants in the UK. You’ll most likely see her hopping around Buddleia flowers in the summer.
Tree Bumblebee
Latin: Latin: Bombus Hypnorum. A newly native bumblebee to the UK. Most common in the south of England but spreading further north. A migrant from Europe, this tiny queen is enjoying our hedgerows and woodlands edges, pollinating hawthorn and elder and often loves a clover flower too.
Three Rani Bumblebees
Rufous Striped Bumblebee
Latin: Latin: Bombus Rufofasciatus Smith. An illusive bee to pin down. This Rani lives in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas and is the main pollinator of a delicate mountain flower, the Brahma’s Lotus Flower.
Short-Faced Bumblebee
Latin: Latin: Bombus Breviceps. Common and native to India this vibrant and exciting Rani is the main pollinator of Black Cardamom, a core spice used in a lot of Indian cooking.
Blood-Tipped Bumblebee
Latin: Latin: Bombus Haemorrhoidalis Smith. An unattractive Latin name for a large and extremely important Rani. She is the only native bumblebee to Lower Northern Pakistan and is a main and vital pollinator of crops grown in the region. Biologists are researching the possibility of domesticating this bumblebee in order to preserve the pollination job she does.