Lucía Loren (Madrid, 1973), a leading artist at the crossroads between art and ecology, presents the interspecies installation “Enjambre” (Swarm), a series of swarm collectors for the Canary Island Black Bee placed on the branches of a large Kapok tree in Doramas Park. These are handcrafted pieces made from woven reeds, produced in collaboration with the local artisan José Miguel Méndez.

The Canary Islands are home to a great diversity of bee species, among which we could highlight the Canary Island Black Bee, a species of great genetic value. It has been present on the islands for thousands of years now; endemic variants have evolved that are perfectly adapted to the bioclimatic conditions of the archipelago and make excellent use of flowers in bloom.

The Canary Island Black Bee is a highly valuable rustic beekeeping species, as it is very tame, hardly consumes reserves and evidences a hygienic behaviour which results in a lower incidence of diseases. The gradual introduction of foreign species has greatly weakened this autonomous breed, introducing new pathologies such as varroasis. The arrival of predators such as the wolf wasp and the yellowjacket, recently introduced, have also caused great damage to the bee population, which is why a recovery, conservation and selection plan has been in place for some years now in order to protect this genetic treasure.

Pollination is a fundamental ecosystem service at the environmental, economic and social levels. According to the FAO, 70% of our food depends on pollinators such as bees (both solitary and social). The defence of local species such as the Canary Island Black Bee, as opposed to foreign species, involves, among other aspects, the institutional acknowledgement of the breed, economic and material resources for research, the provision of land for transhumant settlements and the maintenance of areas free from herbicides and pesticides, as Diego Calcines, a beekeeper and defender of this species, points out.

Pollinator assessment: Néstor López and Diego Calcines

Images of the process

Images of the piece