Press release from Asheville GreenWorks:
More than 400 entries were received during June for a county-wide Pollinator Photo Contest highlighting pollinators going about their important business in Buncombe County. Residents, one as young as 4-1/2 years old, entered the contest, held during Asheville’s 8th annual month-long Pollination Celebration, organized by Asheville GreenWorks. The Leadership Committee of Bee City USA – Asheville selected the winning photos from 428 entries in the following categories: Best Overall, Children, Teen, Adult, and Professional. A number of Honorable Mentions were also awarded. The Pollinator Photo Contest was sponsored by Carolina Native Nursery and Reem’s Creek Nursery.
“The goal of the contest was to encourage our community to take a closer look at the small, imperiled creatures that do the important work of pollinating not only our fruits and vegetables, but also most of the world’s flowering plants,” said Phyllis Stiles, founder and director emeritus of Bee City USA.
The complete list of winners and winning photos can be viewed on the Asheville GreenWorks blog at https://www.ashevillegreenworks.org/protect-our-pollinators/pollination-celebration-photo-contest-winners-and-prizes
Asheville GreenWorks manages the Bee City USA – Asheville program and the Leadership Committee, which judged the entries. The committee considered the clarity of the pollinator, how the photo communicated something about pollinator diversity, and pollinator interactions with flowers, especially how they transport pollen on their bodies. Committee member Betsy Savely said, “The quantity and quality of the entries far exceeded our expectations, which made choosing winners extremely challenging.”
Best Overall
Jean Marie Dillon — for her photo of a Northern Pearly-eye butterfly, which visited briefly on her windowsill.Adult Category
First Place — Andy MacPhillimy, who captured a Green Metallic Sweat Bee eating pollen on bee balm.
Second Place — Tim Sorrill, for his Bumble Bees on echinacea.
Third Place – Renee Dunaway, for her photo of a Margined Leatherwing Soldier Beetle (a firefly mimic) on milkweed. Beetles are considered the oldest group of pollinators on Earth.Children 12 and Under Category
First Place — Soren Tompkins (age 10) for a Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly.
Second Place — Jacob Tompkins (age 12) for a Silver-spotted Skipper Butterfly.
Third Place — Willow Wallace (age 4 ½), for a Honey Bee on a lovely borage blossom.Teen Category
First Place — John Fulmer for his Silver-spotted Skipper Butterfly.
Second Place — Natasha van Niekerk for her Sweat Bee on a blanket flower.
Third Place — Tünde Paule for a Honey Bee.Professional Category
First Place — Paul Stebner for his photo of a Fritillary Butterfly on bee balm.
Second place — John Tyson for his photo of a Honey Bee with seemingly transparent wings.
Third place – Paul Stebner for an Eastern Carpenter Bee playing hide-n-seek.Honorable Mention Category
Marie Henderson — for capturing a most unusual bee — a Leafcutter Bee mimicking a Carpenter Bee on blue false indigo.Courtland White — for an exceptionally well composed photo of a Bumble Bee on a dahlia in Henderson County.
Joseph Patterson — for a male Eastern Carpenter Bee on flowering wisteria.
Julie Rogers — for capturing a male and female Monarch Butterfly together on a butterfly bush.
Megan Riley – for a handsome Brown-belted Bumble Bee on native Eastern prickly pear.
Mark Troy – for a dreamy photo of a Leafcutter Bee on rue anemone.
David Harris – for his outstanding photo of an Orange Sulphur Butterfly.
Wendy Stovall — for her Bumble Bee hiding in a gladiola.
Celene DeLoach — for capturing a macho Leafcutter Bee with hairy front legs.
Diane Puckett — for Melissodes Long-horned Bees on echinacea.
Joe Adams — for a Bumble Bee on lavender.
Cristina Garcia – for showing a bee so covered in yellow pollen it isn’t clear what kind of bee it is on an unknown flower.
Donna Paxon — for a native Solitary Bee.
Celene DeLoach – for spotting a newly emerged Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly.
Renee Dunaway — for a Bee Mimic Fly. Yes, some flies try to mimic a bee!
Sam Hollis — for a Hover Fly on an azalea flower in Bent Creek area.
Winning photos may also be viewed on Asheville GreenWorks’ Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/avlgreenworks/?hl=en or Bee City USA – Asheville FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/beecityasheville/. For more information about the Asheville Bee City USA program, visit www.AshevilleGreenworks.org
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