Dear All
Today Kenya marks 50 years of independence…
We have so much to celebrate as Kenya remains one of the most blessed places on the planet in terms of biodiversity. While there are many challenges facing conservation in this beautiful country of ours, one thing that I can’t emphasize enough is how inspiring it is to live and work here among creatures who have evolved over hundreds of millions of years and today form an essential part of the ecosystems that support our lives and livelihoods. And we still have SO MUCH to learn about our country in terms of its biodiversity: many regions remain little-explored.
One of the most incredible patterns that is emerging is how localized our biodiversity is in terms of species distribution. For example, around Kakamega Forest there are about 250 different species of bees, while around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya there are about 400-500 species. But, when you compare the two sites, there is only ONE species that occurs at both locations! The honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata) is the only species that overlaps between the two regions. This highlights the importance of conserving, studying and celebrating biodiversity wherever we are in this wonderful country.
I’ve been busy with the bees in Western Kenya and finished up this poster of the Bees of Kakamega Forest recently (one of my favourite places in Kenya, and one of the most important areas for biodiversity). Please click on the poster image for a larger version.
My humble contribution on this auspicious day… A little inspiration to keep us looking at dudus for the next 50 years!
Please enjoy and share!
More from the wonderful world of bugs soon!
this iv a very very cool poster! great work!