Bees, meet badass

Ok, so they're not technically bees, but still - this guy rocks. I thought this video appropriate considering the amount of space I've given bees and hornets lately. Watch to the end - the hives are of ridiculous size!

H/t to Japan Probe.

Bee Update

Well, despite all the forces of the universe working against me, I made it back to Japan last night. I won't go into all my grievances, but let's just say I'm never going to voluntarily fly United again.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that an unwanted guest had moved in next to my washing machine. I checked out the hole this morning and didn't see anything inside, so I'm hoping the boric acid did the trick. If it turns out that she was just out getting breakfast and is still residing with me, I'll keep you aware of whatever further measures I need to take.

I will do my best to update over the next few days, but bear with me - this jet lag is rough.

Pests

Oh the joys of living in an old apartment. It seems to me that certain pests are a lot easier to find in Japan than other places. Sure, you can find roaches in just about any country, developed or not, but it seems like in Japan you run a decent chance of running into them no matter what kind of place you're living in. I've had a few run-ins with them in this place.

Most recently, though, I have a new "neighbor" trying to move in. On my balcony there is a washing machine. Behind the washer is this wooden column that looks like it was once part of some kind of structure. I don't know why it's there, but I have nowhere to move it to; so there it remains. Looks like someone took a liking to it.

When I got home a few days ago, I was startled to see this bee hanging out there, doing...something with the wood. It didn't make that hole, by the way - there were already a few holes in the column. It was by its lonesome (there doesn't appear to be any hive nearby) and it didn't seem aggressive, even when I got fairly close, leading me to believe it's a carpenter bee. They don't seem that bad from online descriptions, and it didn't seem ill-tempered. Nonetheless, I would rather not risk having a nest right next to my washing machine. I feel bad trying to kill it - after all, it's not really doing anything to bother me...but I can't set the precedent of letting bugs move in on my turf. So I scared it away for a few minutes by shooting it from behind my screen door (I guess I'm a coward like that) with some water. When it was gone, I powdered the hole with my favorite insecticide - boric acid.

Unfortunatelty as I'm in America at the moment, I'm not sure if the acid worked or not. I guess I'll find out soon enough.