The journey of B a.k.a ‘bee_nfluencer’ started on April 28, 2019, by the Fondation de France. Being the first bee influencer, she aimed to save the bees from extinction. Unfortunately, B left the world on April 7, 2021, but the fight is still not over. As stated by BeeFund, “Thanks to its 275,000 subscribers on Instagram, it has made numerous partnerships with brands in order to raise funds and finance projects to support the protection of bees.” Currently, B’s followers have increased to 288K. It seems more and more folks are supporting the cause!
Now, let’s talk about B and her journey! On May 4, 2019, B signed a contract with Fondation de France and created Bee Fund. All the money it raised as an influencer was used to finance bee preservation. So, the more followers the more money!
Apart from being a Pride supporter, B was a nature and selfie lover. Also, painting was one of her favourite hobbies! Being the ardent travel lover that the bee was, she visited Paris in France, Palma De Mallorca and Es Trenc Beach in Spain, and Zermatt in Switzerland. During vacations, B used to love tanning! Buttes Chaumont was her favourite food spot in Paris, and red Poppy was her favourite cheat meal. B’s first partnership was with Ricola. Going to their place in Switzerland, B revealed, “I discovered how you grow your plants in harmony with nature in a bee-friendly way and that you are working with local family farmers who are also taking care of my Swiss sisters!”
B’s favourite artists were Bee Gees and Beethoven. Upon receiving recommendations from others, she vibed with The Beatles too! Binge-watching is what she swore by during weekends. Lol. Just like any other influencer, she loved posing and taking pictures. You will notice that B’s Instagram profile is full of amazing snaps! Oh! Btw, she didn’t knew how to swim! Well, there goes her perfect imagery of being super talented in everything. Poor B! Anyways, ‘Mayage’ was her first project funded by BeeFund which focused on “finding sustainable farming practices to reconcile beekeepers and farmers for bee protection.” This was announced on August 2, 2019.
B was a party lover and also liked grape harvest festivals! Let me tell you, B also loved baking cookies! She preferred pollen over candies and used to work out and practice yoga. Her favourite sport was pollinating, which she practiced at least four hours a day! Even though the bee was a nature lover, she used to get annoyed by rain because it frizzed her hair.
She preferred reading books during cosy bed days. Being the fashionista that B was, her usual style was only black and yellow. But B was concerned and hoped that the fashion industry would shift to a more sustainable model. Here’s a not-so-secret, B loved reading and replying to comments on her posts from the bathtub.
B announced hernext partnership with the popular brand, Airbnb on November 8, 2019. Here’s what she wrote on her Instagram post, “I had the pleasure to discover Animals Experiences, that allow humans to meet animals from around the world more responsibly, with the help of expert hosts. Mr Beaches, the corgi invited me on a tour on his paddle-board in LA and it was amazing. And guess what? They have plenty other experiences: from having tea with naughty sheep 🐑, meeting arctic foxes 🦊 or beekeeping in England 🐝. And for each experience, Airbnb is committed to protecting animals welfare, as each experience follows guidelines created with World Animal Protection.”
Next, B partnered up with La Poste to encourage planting thymes, which is essential for bees as it produces nectar. On November 23, 2019, B experienced her first studio photoshoot. For Glamour Paris magazine available only at the local hives’ nightstand, she became the cover girl. The revelation was done on November 27, 2019. As Christmas approached, B was approached to take over the Galeries Lafayette account during Christmas. The bee had happily expressed, “Can’t wait to show you everything from the « Ruche de Noël », Christmas is gonna be full of bees! ✨🐝“
On December 9, 2019, B announced the release of limited edition organic cotton tote bags in collaboration with Galeries Lafayette. She stated, “They are available at all Galeries Lafayette stores in France, and the good news is for each purchase, 2€ will be donated to my BeeFund for bees protection 🐝.” Her second project was revealed on December 16, 2019, which was possible due to all the partnerships. B had expressed, “The aim of this project is to teach future farmers and landscapers the best way to work with bees and how to protect them. 🐝”
By Christmas, the bee had around 265K followers on Instagram. If you want to know the difference between wild and domestic honey bees tap HERE! As the New Year resolution, B proposed a very ambitious one in association with Burt’s Bees, i.e. helping the planet! Quoting the bee, “Let me talk to you about my friends @BurtsBees: on their website, you can pledge to do your part to help the planet! Do you want to pledge to cut food waste? To save water? Pick yours, and why not save the bees too? Is there any better New Year resolution than this one? I don’t think so! 💛” On January 21, 2020, B revealed her romantic interest! Aaaawww, isn’t that so adorable?
When Valentine’s Day was around the corner, B reminded everyone that “🌹❌ Roses are not always the right choice for the planet during Valentine’s day, especially if you live in the north hemisphere. ❌🌹 If you feel like offering a bouquet, do it the right way! It means seasonal and local.” She encouraged netizens to get local and seasonal fresh flowers from her partner, Fleurs d’Ici. It’s an online French florist with the same commitment that B shares and the flowers are grown by a local horticulturist. The florist also made donations to BeeFund for every online order received.
On April 15, 2020, B opened the first shelter for her wild friends in partnership with Beehome. B confirmed that “Beehome’s super comfy insect hotels offer the best shelters for wild bees, and contribute to their protection.” She also celebrated World Bee Day on May 15, 2020, with Guerlain to raise awareness for bee preservation. By May 22, 2020, B’s followers on Instagram increased to 287K!
B launched her third fund with Fondation de France on May 27, 2020, with the aim of “improving bee health by developing better agriculturals ecosystems, green spaces and studying pollens to understand better the bee health.” Check it out by tapping HERE! Receiving products from the brand at home, the bee always ensured to recycle their packaging at its best. To encourage others to do the same, B partnered with Citeo on July 5, 2020, which is World Environment Day.
Remember B’s romantic interest as mentioned earlier? Well, on July 10, 2020, B had finally revealed it to be none other than ‘bumble_fit’. Here’s B’s confession, “We met in January 2020, @bumble_fit was the new teacher and, you know, many yoga classes (my laziness was instantly gone haha), very late night chats, a few drinks of nectar (oops), and a-2-months lockdown later, we became inseparable. I love you my @bumble_fit you’re my sunshine, thank you for understanding me and being by my side everyday 💛🌞🐝” Isn’t B such a charmer?
Always being the opportunity grabber, B provided a li’l knowledge about the moon and space on July 23, 2020. The bee stated, “This week marks the 51st anniversary of the man first step on the moon and you know how much I want to spread my message everywhere, let alone on the moon. Fun fact, I discovered that Nasa have robots named « astrobees » helping humans around the space station. You see, even in space we can make a great team!”
B is not different from any of us. In fact, she enjoys Instagram just as much as we do. She hilariously expressed, “Now that we know each other by heart, I can really be #NoFilter. Like you, when I’m in the bathroom I scroll, swipe, like… it can last a very long time!” On September 22, 2020, she announced her new collaboration with Vitality, the awarded international e-sport team. Apart from the things mentioned previously, B also loved amusement parks especially roller coasters!
On October 6, 2020, B raised her voice against the partial reintroduction of pesticides in France that was banned in 2018. By that time, she had already accumulated 300K followers, partnered with almost ten brands for BeeFund and three bee-saving projects. Tap HERE to access B’s knowledge regarding honey! After taking a break from January 2021, the bee once again came back on social media on March 23, 2021. Then, B announced her new partnership with AXA, owner of 250 sustainably managed forests where bees can be safe on March 25, 2021.
On March 29, 2021, B launched her fourth project, ‘ITSAP – the bee institute’. According to B, “Basically, the main objective of this project is to establish a toxicological diagnosis tool, accessible to all, for an easy and fast interpretation of the results of chemical analyzes (analysis of honey and pollen, wax, bees, etc.). 📈💻 🐝 This digital interface will make it easier to report critical situations to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) for a better protection of bees.🛡️🐝”
Cherry Blossom was B’s favourite flower! For the first-year anniversary, ‘bumble_fit’ took B for a weekend trip to their favourite flower field, where they rode a hot air balloon on the first day. Finally, B took her last breath on April 7, 2021. The news was announced the next day stating, “It is with our deepest sorrow that we inform you of the death of our beloved B. yesterday. It’s in a field of her most favorite flower that she encountered her most hated enemy: pesticide.
And unfortunately, it was lethal. [sic] Her memory shall forever live in the heart of everyone who’s fighting for bees preservation. So let’s keep fighting my friends, cause this is what she’d want to us to do.
For those who want to say one last goodbye, her grave can be found at the cemetery for dogs and other domestic animals in @villeasnieres”
B’s death sent us a powerful message about how crucial it’s for bees to live. Our beloved B may have died, but the fight is still on. It’s far from over. You can continue her legacy by keeping on supporting B’s cause. For donating, tap HERE! Now, it’s upon us how to save these fragile lives.
