Spring has definitely sprung. The carpenter bees (Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex) of the Central Valley have emerged and are creating their own little Lovers' Lane on the salvia. More males than females. More buzzing than foraging. More chasing than capturing.
Okay, Ill admit it. I have a soft spot for honey bees. Today I fished out some thoroughly drenched honey bees from our swimming pool. Indeed, the pool looked like an Olympic meet for Apis mellifera.
A would-be beekeeper "inherited" an empty bee box, a reconditioned bee box, in his backyard. "How do I become a beekeeper?" he asked. A very good question, and one that the UC Davis Department of Entomology answers a lot.
They know their insects. They know what a "land lobster" is. They know diseases caused by trypanosomes. They can name the six orders of arthropods represented in the circus troupe from the movie, "A Bug's Life.
So, you've just stepped on a bug. Do you kill it and put it out of its "misery" or do you let it live? That was basically the question that UC Davis entomologist/doctoral candidate Matan Shelomi answered on Quora.
