let's talk about the bees

[Spiritwolfe]

LOL! Yeah, it's pretty easy for me to lapse into tech talk about these things. I've been teaching biology for nearly 30 years and this is everyday stuff for me. But you might try collecting a specimen sometime and then you can tell if it has one pair of wings or two using a hand lens.

I learned early on in my academic career about syrphids. When I was an undergrad I was taking a bunch of macro slides of flowers for a project I was doing and when I got them developed and looked closely, I saw a lot of different bees on the flowers. My advisor was an entomologist so I asked him if he could identify these bees for me. I gave him the slides and then a week later I asked him if he had identified all those bees. He said "Yup, and none of them are bees." LOL!

Almost 30 years of teaching biology? Wow! That's impressive.,
Do you teach high school , collage or university?

[Brian T]

Take Nomad's word for it. He's still fresh, I'm ten years beyond my Best Before date after 31 years in the university biology trenches.

[Nomad]

Almost 30 years of teaching biology? Wow! That's impressive.,
Do you teach high school , collage or university?

Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

[Spiritwolfe]

Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

Wow. ! That's really something.

[Spiritwolfe]

Take Nomad's word for it. He's still fresh, I'm ten years beyond my Best Before date after 31 years in the university biology trenches.

So you are EXPIRED? Lol

[Nomad]

Wow. ! That's really something.

It's a job. I've been in academia long enough to know that it has it's good points and bad points, good people, and bad people, just like any other job. And I'm looking forward to retirement.

[Spiritwolfe]

So you are EXPIRED? Lol

It wasn't actually a question RV. Lol

[Brian T]

Nah. Just stale. Mostly crumbs.

[GregGerard]

I have been enjoying this thread as well. I don't know much about bees but I do know they love Red Drum. Whenever I am cleaning one they show up real quick to help me out. Once in awhile they'll help with filleting flounder and other fish but they love red drum.. Its a sweeter meat.

[Nomad]

I have been enjoying this thread as well. I don't know much about bees but I do know they love Red Drum. Whenever I am cleaning one they show up real quick to help me out. Once in awhile they'll help with filleting flounder and other fish but they love red drum.. Its a sweeter meat.

That's pretty interesting Greg. Nice observation. Were they by any chance Yellow Jackets? I know they are attracted to meat.

[GregGerard]

That's pretty interesting Greg. Nice observation. Were they by any chance Yellow Jackets? I know they are attracted to meat.

Yes, mostly Yellow Jackets(its like I rang a diner bell sometimes) but for sure I had carpenter bees and regular type bees check the fish out, they may be coming for the fresh water though...or for the company, I talk to them of course

[Nomad]

Yes, mostly Yellow Jackets(its like I rang a diner bell sometimes) but for sure I had carpenter bees and regular type bees check the fish out, they may be coming for the fresh water though...or for the company, I talk to them of course

It's really interesting that they show a preference. Insects in general have pretty amazing sensory functions and in the past few years, there's been a lot of research around using bees to detect drugs and bombs. It's kind of old news and most folks have probably heard about this but here are a couple links.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/33195468/honey-bees-trained-to-detect-illegal-drugs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMGbf6pGOUg

[GregGerard]

Thanks for those links, Terry. I didn't know they were doing that. Really neat stuff... I can see the bees now with there little tiny leashes at the airports sniff'n luggage.

[Spiritwolfe]

Thanks for those links, Terry. I didn't know they were doing that. Really neat stuff... I can see the bees now with there little tiny leashes at the airports sniff'n luggage.

Hahahaha! Priceless! The entertainment here is great. Lol

[Nomad]

Thanks for those links, Terry. I didn't know they were doing that. Really neat stuff... I can see the bees now with there little tiny leashes at the airports sniff'n luggage.

LOL! Maybe someday bees will replace cats and dogs as the favorite home pet. Much cheaper to feed.