The black and blue striped yellow *Amegilla cingulata*, or Blue-Banded Bee, is a solitary bee from Australia. There is ongoing research into how Australian agriculture can benefit from the Blue-Banded Bees’ unique “buzz pollination” technique rather than importing non-native honey bees.
We at the bee collective have decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from this NFT to the [E. L. Niño Bee Lab](https://elninobeelab.ucdavis.edu/) at UC Davis. Two major contributors of colony decline or collapse is queen bee loss and *Varroa destructor* mites. Queen bees are the only reproductive female in a colony and as such are vital for supporting the entire colony. Varroa mites are the top parasite...