California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum) will explore the topic of pollinators in an upcoming gallery exhibit, The Birds and the Bees and More: Pollinators, on view March 2-Sept. 2 at 1511-B Mission Drive, Solvang.

The display features original art by Cynthia James, Ava Roth, Susan McDonnell and Elizabeth Weber.

James, a Santa Barbara artist, recognizes the increasing risks faced by pollinators like bees, and crafts fantastical paintings of flowers that seem slightly menacing, a subtle reference to pesticides that harm them.

Roth, who is from Toronto, Canada, joins forces with honey bees to produce a series of artworks featuring bee-created honeycombs which she then augments with other media.

McDonnell fashions luminous paintings with compositions featuring a variety of creatures such as bats and butterflies, lesser known as pollinators, but who fulfill that role in a variety of ecosystems.

Weber, a documentary photographer, captures images of monarch butterflies to bring attention to their dwindling numbers, and inspire homeowners to plant native species in their yards and gardens to support pollinators. 

The exhibit is also a collaboration with the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration at UC Santa Barbara.

The Cheadle Center’s contribution focuses on native bees, including high-resolution images of rare, local bees from the UCSB Natural History Collection, and images of bees visiting flowers of native plants for an up-close look at their beauty and biodiversity. The exhibit not only showcases honey bees (the most widely known pollinator), but also native bees, butterflies, birds, and bats.

For more about California Nature Art Museum, visit www.calnatureartmuseum.org.