Turn your delivery box into a bee

Betty may be made of cardboard, glue and crayons, but she has an important message to share about how you can help save her fellow bees.

Nearly one in four native bee species are at risk of going extinct, and honey bee colonies are collapsing. Everything from climate change to habitat loss hurts bees, but a class of pesticides called neonics is a leading factor. So, Betty is part of a national campaign working to get the online retailer Amazon to stop selling bee-killing neonic pesticides. After the public called for action, Home Depot and Lowe’s committed to do this. It’s time for Amazon to join them.

We can’t same day ship a new species. Join Betty in telling Amazon to stop selling bee-killing neonic pesticides. 

Want to make your own Betty the bee? Follow these instructions to make your own bee using a cardboard box, scissors, crayons and glue.

• Cardboard box

• Scissors

• Glue

• Crayons 

• (Optional) Black pipe cleaner

• (Optional) Two googly eyes

Cut out the bee body and bee wings from your printed template. Place them on your cardboard using the dashed line to align the pieces with the edge of the cardboard. Trace and cut out each of the pieces on the cardboard. Ask an adult for help with this step if you need help using scissors on cardboard.

I used yellow and black crayons to add stripes to the body of Betty, but you can use your imagination and creativity to decorate your bee body.

Take one of your bee wings and squish the cardboard to make it flatter and easier to shape. Curve the wing into a circle, then place one short edge turned 90° on the other short edge to make a point. Glue the two ends together.

Repeat with the other bee wing.

Use the guides on the body template to glue the two wings to the body of your bee.

Your bee is assembled. Now you can use your creativity to give your bee a personality of its own. Betty has antennae made from a curled black pipe cleaner that was poked through a hole in the cardboard and two googly eyes.

Tweet your bee @amazon asking them to stop selling bee-killing neonic pesticides. Don’t forget to tag @EnvAm and use #savethebees so we can see your finished bee!