Big bug in the bathroom

A very large bug was spotted in the men's restroom...

Check out how huge those mandibles are! That thing could take out an eyeball!

For scale, I got this shot of it next to my shoe. The bug is about an inch long.

I didn't step on the bug, but after I noticed it, someone else did. That didn't kill the bug, but it made it less mobile. I couldn't get a shot of it near my shoe when it was more mobile because it kept walking toward my shoe, and I was afraid it would eat through my shoe and eventually eat through me...

Officemate's bee research on NPR

The graduate school research of my officemate (Kevin Schultz) was featured on NPR All Things Considered on Saturday during the "Science out of the Box" segment:

"Bees Follow Their Leaders"

When a swarm of bees takes flight, it can form a cloud as big as a school bus. But who's driving? And how do they know which way to go? Professor Thomas Seeley of Cornell University talks about how swarms of honeybees decide who's at the wheel and who's a backseat flier.

The audio story is streamable from the NPR link.

Professor Passino is our shared adviser, but my research has nothing to do with bee swarms. :) Professor Seeley is a collaborator of Passino/Schultz; he's from Cornell.

Bees and dumb Michigan people...

NPR : Mich. Home Becomes Beehive

Morning Edition, July 5, 2007 - In Michigan, Sarah Spitler and her husband noticed a few honey bees going in and out of a hole in their house. Given the bee shortage they decided to leave the hive alone. Now with tens of thousands of bees in the walls and an odor in their home, the Spitlers have called the exterminator. But here's the problem, once the bees are dead their waxy comb will melt and gallons of honey will leak from the walls.