To Bee or Not to Bee

To Bee or Not to Bee
an NbS Comic by Marta Delas, Florence Damiens, and Margaux Boeraeve

SWEET-SPOT IS A FLOWER STRIP WHERE MANY POLLINATORS LIVE. FLOWER STRIPS HAVE BEEN PLANTED BETWEEN CROPFIELDS BY HUMANS FOR DECADES IN ORDER TO ATTRACT POLLINATORS AND FAVOUR CROP POLLINATION.

TAWNY IS ONE OF THE POLLINATORS LIVING THERE. SHE IS A CURIOUS MINING BEE THAT LIKES TO WANDER AROUND, DISCOVERING STUFF…

…AND WRITING ABOUT IT.

TAWNY: A writer’s life is a lonely life…

HER CLOSEST FRIEND IS THE ONLY TREE LEFT IN THE AREA, A WISE OAK TREE ALWAYS KEEN TO GIVE OTHERS ADVICE.

TAWNY: What if the article I sent to that magazine was too short, Madame?

MADAME TROGNE: “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

HUMAN’S MIND: What a strange bee…

APHY: Oh! I think this may be the place.

ONE SUNNY AFTERNOON, SWEET-SPOT RECEIVED AN UNEXPECTED VISIT…
APHY: Excuse me; is this Flower strip 198-A74, commonly known as “Sweet-Spot”?
TAWNY: Yes, welcome! Where are you coming from?
APHY: I came from another development to the north. But since I started this new job, I’ve been moving around a lot. It involves a lot travelling.
TAWNY: I’m sure you will get to meet many interesting insects and visit incredible places! What’s your job about?
APHY: I work for the F.I.A.. I need to write a report about Sweet-Spot to take back to the central office.
TAWNY: Acronyms are always exciting! What is the F.I.A.?
APHY: It’s the Flower strip Implementation Agency. We coordinate and evaluate all of the flower strips in the region. This is my first fieldwork assignment by myself.
Could you please show me around the strip?
TAWNY: Sure! It will be a pleasure.
APHY: Thanks! My name is Aphiddy Aschiza, by the way, but you can call me Aphy. What’s your name?
TAWNY: I’m Tawny. It’s cool to meet someone from outside!

THEIR FIRST STOP WAS THE HONEYBEE HIVE.
HUMAN’S MIND: Yummy…
TAWNY: The Honeybees are the bosses around here.
TAWNY’S MIND: They are such pets…

APHY’S MIND: It must be hard to stay in shape next to this hive.
APHY: Their facilities do seem pretty impressive.

HONEYBEE: They are, honey! We are thriving here. So many delicious flowers around Sweet-spot AND the neighbouring fields! This is better than a luxury hotel. You will love the menu!

BUT NOT EVERY SPECIES HAD SUCH A SWEET LIFE…

SOME WERE INDEED THRIVING,
HONEYBEE 1: Check out my gorgeous new bag, Honeydew.
BUMBLEBEE 1: Chic!
BUMBLEBEE 2: I’m packed!!
HONEYBEE 3: Big party tonight in cells 134-135, spread the word sis!
HONEYBEE 4: And these are the 2.0 deluxe cells, with our improved certified propolis formula.
INSECT 1: My legs are empty again…
INSECT 2: I found this shell!
INSECT 3: No, I did!
INSECT 4: Give it back or I’ll tear your wings apart!
INSECT 5: You will have to share this, kids. It’s all I could find today.
LARVAE: Bur Mom, we HATE lavender!!

BUT A LOT OF THEM WERE NOT.

CATERPILLAR: I’m hungry.
WORM’S MIND: I hate my job.
MADAME TROGNE: “When sorrows come, they come not single spies. But in battalions!”

AND APHY WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS.
APHY: I don’t understand, aren’t there enough flowers for everyone?
TAWNY: Well…there are plenty of flowers, just not the right kind for most of us. There are many picky eaters living here.
The flowers sown by the humans are not the ones some of us need.
And we need more than just flowers; we need material and a good spot to build our nests.

APHY: But isn’t there enough space in the hive?
TAWNY: The hives are a good spot for the Honey bees, but not for the rest of us…

THEIR CONVERSATION WAS INTERRUPTED BY AN APPROACHING NOISE.

IT WAS A BIG DEMONSTRATION

“Flower diversity against poverty”

“Give us back our future”
“Clover all over”
“Pep up poppies”
“Fair housing now”

APHY: Wow, I have never seen such a big protest before!
TAWNY: This happens almost every evening here.
PROTEST CONCERT: The Beetles

TAWNY: Geez! The Beetles are playing tonight! They are my favourite band! Let’s go!

MUSIC: “You say you want a revolution”

BEE 1: Are those real fireflies?
BEE 2: Yes.
BEE 3: Wow, there are hardly any left around here!”

APHY: Brilliant spots! How did you manage to get these tickets?

TAWNY: Oh, I wrote a piece about the band for free and it had quite a bit of success so…they owe me!

MADAME TROGNE: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”

APHY: Hey Tawny, where is your nest? I’d love to read some of your articles.
TAWNY: I was digging my nest in the ground right next to Sweet-spot, but this morning the farmer came by in his tractor to plough the field and now it is gone. It’s all gone…
APHY: Oh no! I’m so sorry! Is there another place where you could make a new nest? Perhaps you could ask other mining bees if they know of a safer location?
TAWNY: That is complicated; there is nobody like me in Sweet-Spot.
APHY: Why are there no other mining bees here?? In fact, you are the first one I’ve met since I left the central office!
TAWNY: They told me many nests were destroyed when the flower strip was built, but nobody speaks about it these days…
APHY: Hmmm, what about asking that big old tree over there? Where I come from, trees know every bit of history.
TAWNY: Yes, Madame Trogne might know what happened. I never spoke to her about this…

APHY WAS RIGHT; MADAME TROGNE HAD BEEN THERE MANY YEARS BEFORE THE FLOWERSTRIP WAS EVEN PLANNED.

MADAME TROGNE:
“That unmatch’d form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy. O, woe is me.
T’have seen what I have seen, see what I see!”

THE FARMING LANDSCAPE BEFORE USED TO BE VERY DIFFERENT, WITH A GREAT DIVERSITY OF HEDGES, TREES, AND FLOWERS. MANY SPECIES OF ANIMALS LIVED HERE.

BUT HUMANS NEEDED MORE SPACE TO PLANT CROPS AND BEGAN TO CLEAR THE EXISTING VEGETATION TO MAKE BIG FLAT FIELDS.

MADAME TROGNE: “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.”

MORE AND MORE MACHINES CAME TO MAKE THE FIELDS BIGGER. ALMOST ALL ANIMALS LEFT, THEIR HOMES BEING DESTROYED AND THEM BEING UNABLE TO FIND FOOD OR SHELTER.
MADAME TROGNE: “The rest, is silence.”

SWEET-SPOT WAS THEN BUILT TO ATTRACT POLLINATORS BUT, IN DOING SO, MANY EXISTING NESTS WERE SHATTERED AND A LOT OF LOCAL SPECIES DISAPPEARED.

APHY: This is an alarming story! We understand the need for farming but there is surely a different way to approach these new developments!
TAWNY: It seems it’s easier to wipe out what was there before. Those who lack imagination always prefer to tackle a blank page.
APHY: But if we explain how important it is to protect biodiversity, humans will listen!
TAWNY: A little creativity could be helpful…
MADAME TROGNE: “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.”

APHY: That’s it, Tawny! We could change the way things are being done! Come with me back to the central office. Come work in the F.I.A.!
TAWNY: But that would mean leaving Sweet-Spot…
APHY: You could help solve Sweet-Spot’s problems! I believe we could make a great team, think about it!
IT WAS NOT AN EASY DECISION TO MAKE.
TAWNY: What do you think, Madame? I feel a bit scared. What if I never come back?

MADAME TROGNE:
“The undiscovere’d country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?”
TAWNY’S MIND: It’s true…and it does sound pretty exciting.

APHY TOLD HER TO THINK ABOUT IT WHILE SHE HELPED HER GATHER ALL THE INFORMATION NEEDED TO WRITE A DETAILED REPORT FOR THE F.I.A..
APHY: Sign here and here
BUTTERFLY: Tell them about the nettles, dear.
PAPAVERA: And don’t forget about the poppies!!

AFTER THINKING IT OVER DEEPLY, TAWNY DECIDED TO PURSUE THIS NEW ADVENTURE AND PREPARED TO SAY GOODBYE TO SWEETSPOT.

THE BEETLES: Good luck girl! Don’t forget to write about us wherever you go!
MOTH: Do send us a postleaf now and then, sweetie.
LARVAE: Please!
CATERPILLAR: I’m still hungry!

MADAME TROGNE: “If we are true to ourselves, we can not be false to anyone.”
TAWNY: I think I’ll write that one down, Madame. (snif)

AND WHEN THEY WERE BOTH READY, THEY SET OFF, EAGER TO FIGHT FOR A BETTER FUTURE.

APHY: Tawny, we must make sure no flower strip development ignores what was there before and benefits only a part of the pollinating community.

TAWNY: You got it! We need to check that new Nature Restoration Law!

WHAT IS ‘NBS’ ABOUT THIS COMIC?

To Bee or Not to Bee explores the promise—and sometimes pitfalls—of Nature-based Solutions like flower strips. While designed to support pollinators and boost crop production, such interventions can unintentionally favour a few species while overlooking the needs of other species, including nesting and habitat requirements, and local ecological history. Through Tawny’s journey, the comic highlights the importance of biodiversity, inclusive design, and careful planning. Nature-based solutions work best when they restore whole ecosystems, not just visible benefits. It’s a timely reminder, too, as Europe moves forward with implementing its Nature Restoration Regulation.