WaNBS Board member's photos featured in new guidebook

Congratulations to our board member, Tina LaBonte, for having 17 of her photos featured in “Common Native Bees of the Western United State,” a new guidebook by Ryan Bartlett of Colorado Native Bee. Ryan found Tina through Instagram. When asked about sharing her photos she said yes, because “I want my photos to be used for education and learning. That's why I was so damn happy to see them in the book.“ You may know Tina from Facebook or as @la4bonte in iNaturalist and Instagram where she has beefriended beeple from around the world.

Friends of Tina will recognize Sprout, the opossum that lived in her backyard. She shares other photos when something special comes along and has posted over 6000 observations, with 714 species, and has made over 6500 identifications to help other beeple in iNaturalist.org.

Tina goes out nearly every day to find her little floofy friends and show them off to their advantage. If it isn’t bee season she practices her art taking photographs of birds, opossums, squirrels, and other wildlife.

The book is organized by families, such as Apidae, with her photos of Bumble bees circled here.

When she posted to Facebook on the author’s website, she wrote: “Hey guys, you should really check out this book! Why this book? Well, I might have some photos in the book. When I opened it up, it was so bittersweet. I got so excited seeing my name associated with photography in print for the first time… I just wish my Mom was here to share my excitement. Anywho, thought I'd share... and get the book!”

Tina’s photos are found on pages: 3f, 8c, 8gA, 8gB, 9g, 9h, 11g, 13a, 17d, 23d, 29c, 30a, 30d, 31b, 32b, 34h, and 35a.

Common Native Bees of the Western United States, by Ryan Bartlett, is available for purchase here.