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18 states have declared that their state insect is apis malifera, the honeybee. That's not native to this continent; it was imported for wax and honey and pollination. Every honeybee you see in the US is feral. What you may not know about are the native bees. The ones that have been here for eons, yet none of them are state insects.

Honeybees get all the attention, but native bees are the underbugs to root for. Photographer, author, and National Geographic Explorer Krystle Hickman shows us the wonders of indigenous bees through her lens focused on conservation of bees and their habitats. She covers their lifecycles, tunnels, turrets, fuzzy butts, frat house cuddling, and sexual dimorphism. We also chat about taxonomic fisticuffs, bee hotels, the mustard blight, monocultures, the teeniest livestock, and how to appreciate and photograph all of the marvels you’ve been overlooking. So grab a sunhat, order her deck of native bee flashcards, fill up your water bottle, and let's stare into the bushes to meet some tiny new friends.

Get Krystle Hickman’s gorgeous native bee flashcards, Native Bees of the Western United States, Volume 1

Links to Krystle’s work

Follow Krystle Hickman on Instagram and Twitter

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Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy:, Aperiology (MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY), Melittology (BEES), Spheksology (WASPS), Kinetic Salticidology (DANCING SPIDERS), Entomology (INSECTS), FIELD TRIP: How to Change Your Life via the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Delphinology (DOLPHINS), Xylology (LUMBER), P-22: The Life & Death of an L.A. Cougar , Chickenology (HENS & ROOSTERS), Acaropathology (TICKS & LYME DISEASE), Diplopodology (MILLIPEDES & CENTIPEDES), Dipterology (FLIES), Myrmecology (ANTS) Encore, Sparklebuttology (FIREFLIES), Forest Entomology (CREEPY CRAWLIES), Scorpiology (SCORPIONS), Lepidopterology (BUTTERFLIES)