Mo Ganji: Small Scabious Mining Bee | Kleine Skabiosen-Sandbiene | Andrena marginata | No. 205/250 from work group 8/99

Small Scabious Mining Bee | Kleine Skabiosen-Sandbiene

Mo Ganji turns his attention to the Small scabious mining bee — a solitary wild bee closely tied to open grasslands and flowering meadows — by letting the single line move toward essence rather than activity or ecological role. The line condenses the being into a reduced coherence, setting aside motion, pollination and scale so that presence can surface without explanation. In Ganji’s understanding, the line does not belong to the bee alone; it remains open, reminding us that every figure is also a human concept provisionally placed upon a living process.

Andrena hattorfiana is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. Native to parts of Europe, the species has experienced severe declines due to the loss of species-rich grasslands. It is highly specialized, relying almost exclusively on scabious plants (Knautia and Scabiosa) for pollen, which tightly binds its survival to the persistence of these flowers.

The principal threats include agricultural intensification, conversion of meadows, frequent mowing, pesticide use, and the disappearance of traditional low-intensity land management. Because the bee nests in the ground and depends on a narrow range of host plants, even subtle changes in land use can disrupt its life cycle. Declines often occur unnoticed, hidden within landscapes that still appear green.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the bee can be encountered beyond usefulness or ecological service. It allows attention to rest on a life shaped by specificity and repetition, suggesting how survival can depend on the continued presence of seemingly modest plants, and how the quiet removal of such details can unravel entire forms of life without leaving an obvious trace.