While I can name my local mammals, birds, amphibians and reptile species, I admit to using the word “bee” a little, shall we say, generically, not even sure I know exactly what a bee is—and isn’t.
Dr. Olivia Carril has that covered, and then some. She is a PhD plant biologist who has been studying bees and the flowers they visit for nearly 20 years. Olivia is also co-author with Utah State biology professor Joseph Wilson of “The Bees in Your Backyard,” the new book that caught my eye. From her own garden in New Mexico, I welcomed her to my public-radio show to learn more about bees. I learned how little the honey bee—the image most of us conjure when thinking “bees”—has in common with the other 4,000 species in the U.S., and much more. Read along as you listen to the March 21, 2016 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
my bee q&a with olivia carrilQ. I loved the dedication you made in the new book, Olivia, about the connection that being a mother yourself, and a special feeling it has give you for queen bees.
A. Just as I started writing this book I had my first little girl, and I now have two of them. But the process of learning to take care of my offspring, as I was also learning how mother bees take care of theirs—and how much work and dedication they put into making sure that their little ones will have
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