We’re auctioning off SIX beeutiful hives to raise funds and create a buzz around saving our precious little honeybee. Place a bid on your favourite or donate what you can on our Give a Little page.

Our buzzy little friends might look sweet, but honeybees play a pretty essential role in our ecosystem, with a third of our food relying on their pollination. A recent study of over 3600 registered New Zealand beekeepers show our bee population is dropping by around 10% each year, consistently for the last several years.

Un-bee-lievable, we know. Part of this is due to our once chub-bee workers running out of food, while pesky wasps are doing what they can to wipe out their fellow flyers.

We’ve enlisted the talents of generous local artists to transform our hives into masterpieces. The final honey pot for these original, unique and valuable works will go towards getting rid of our bee’s enemies, implementing Vespex solutions across Queenstown and creating a buzz amongst keepers. Place a bid on your favourite or donate what you can on our Give a Little page. Our honeybees thank you dearly. Well, what they actually said was ‘buzz, buzz, buzz’ but you get the gist.

Hive #4: KIWIANA (The land we live in) by Andie King

"My love for vintage advertising, labels and typography is usually portrayed in my Artwork in one way or another. I am also influenced by the look of natural deterioration of aging surfaces and objects. Most of my work is done by using acrylics, on textured canvases, weed or any other unusual item I can find to paint on. My art tends to be in bold colours for more of an eye catching effect. I am a self taught artist, so everything takes me on a journey of learning and discovery. I love not knowing what each canvas is going to end up looking like."

http://www.queenstownartscentre.co.nz

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/queenstown-lakes-bee-health-booster https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/wasp-wipeout/111722436/world-first-gilded-beehive-creating