Please contact me at:
bee.ecology at gmail
Michelle Kelly Rogers
Apiary & Melipona Investigations
“For often nature reaches her goal by another path, where humans cannot see their way.” -Karl von Frisch, Austrian Ethnologist
My project Apiary & Melipona Investigations is the synthesis of years of research into the world of bees and the relationship that humans have established with the hive throughout history. The artworks create an awareness of the environmental issues pertinent to the health and decline of bee populations and the loss of their habitat. In addition, the artworks employ the beehive, swarming, and an array of bee actions as proposed metaphorical models for the improvement of human social relations, architecture, behavior, etc.
My practice is trans-disciplinary and research-based, merging the fields of art, science, and ecology. Through my dedication to pollinators, I have been involved in conservation and research efforts on a local and global scale. Managing the lab at the Florida Department of Agriculture, I performed morphometric analysis on honey bee samples to determine their origin to the sub-species level. I am certified in FABIS and USDA-ID, two methods used to distinguish between hybrid African and European bees. I worked on native bee research at the University of Florida’s Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory (HBREL). Expanding my work with native bees, I traveled to the Amazon in Mato Grosso, Brazil to document sustainable methods of managing alternative pollinators, such as stingless bees. At Mildred’s Lane in Beach Lake, PA, I acted as the apiarist and the Officer of Complex(ity).