Why bees?

It could be easily argued that I have always been obsessed with bees. Since I have been a child I have tormented my parents, babysitters, and friends with my bug obsession. My parents joke that they could find whose house I was playing at in our neighborhood by following the trail of freshly over-turned rocks. I was especially drawn to pollinators (my first nickname was “shi-butterfly” after all!), and would bring home bumble bees, sometimes with my bare hands.

In college I began working in a native bee lab, and was immediately in love with them. The diversity in forms, colors, and ecology fascinated me. Even as some of the most important insects to humans, I learned how truly misunderstood they were.