Bees, like rats, are creatures that most people try to keep away from their homes — and that some people enjoy keeping around.

One of these was a client of ours who used to own a boarding kennel. Out back were several hives full of bees  (which belonged to him — no, he didn’t board bees), and sometimes my husband would help him collect honey in return for a share of it. Though few people like bees, most people like honey.

PB Majalakare, whose rural home is also home to a million bees, shares some thoughts on life with them:

• “I feel connected to them, they are always busy.”
• “The best part of having them around is the musical humming sound they make.”
• You don’t have to feed bees — just let them keep some of the honey.They are low-maintenance animals in other ways,too.
• Getting stung is less of a risk than you might think — bees don’t sting unless they’re hurt.
• However, beekeeping is definitely for country dwellers who can provide a lot of space and plenty of flowering plants.

A look at the USDA’s statistics on beekeeping is eye-opening. Out of 250,000 beekeepers in the U.S., 230,000 are considered “hobbyists” rather than commercial beekeepers. (The cutoff is owning 300 hives or more.) That’s an awful lot of “pet” bees.

Of course, a hobby can grow into a business. The USDA says a beekeeper thinking of going commercial should probably aim for a market niche — high quality specialty honey, for example, or selling the bees themselves to other beekeepers. Some beekeepers use their experience to moonlight as pest control specialists.

So beekeeping, while not like owning a dog or cat, can be very satisfying. It has its own rewards.

I have now had Gonzo (my New Caledonian Crested Gecko) for more than a year. I’ve found caring for him is a little tricky (sometimes!), so I’ve made a care sheet for new owners of Crested Geckos.

Listed below are some of what I consider important elements of care for Crested Geckos:

1. Housing: Because Crested Geckos are so versatile and hardy, they can be kept in a number of different types of enclosures.  First, a single adult Crestie needs a tank of at least twenty gallons.  It is better if the tank is longer than tall, as Cresties are arboreal.  If you choose (or have) to go longer than tall, make sure to use plenty of climbing materials.  Hatchlings to four month old crested geckos can be housed in 10 gallon aquariums or similar plastic keepers. In some cases, young geckos housed in large cages will not eat well. To avoid that I recommend that geckos less than 12 weeks old be housed in cages no larger than a 10 gallon aquarium. Four month old to adult crested geckos should be housed in a 20 gallon tall aquarium or larger.  As for bedding, paper towels work, but natural bedding like coco bedding, eco-earth, and others are better.  Provide sturdy logs or other materials for climbing, as the lizard can be heavy.  Also, broad leaf plants are loved by Cresties.  I use a Zoo Med “Repti Reservoir” for water, but small dishes work.
2. Feeding:  Cresties will consume a wide variety of foods, as they are omnivores.  Gonzo is fed ten crickets once a week and fresh fruit every two to three nights.  The easiest and most convenient method of feeding Crested Geckos is to use the powdered Crested Gecko Diet developed by Allen Repashy. On his website it states, “The Repashy Superfoods MRP’s are intended to be used as a complete diet without the need for additional supplementation.”  Also, cresties can be fed baby food, wax worms, and meal worms.  As for fruit, Gonzo likes watermelon, cantaloupe, and peach best.
3. Health:  Find a good herp vet.

So, are you ready to take on, care, and love for a cute, little Crested Gecko?  With this sheet, you should be saying yes!

A recent article in Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports that a new pet craze is hitting the land down under. Before you read any further, I need to point out that I am not making this up.  I’m reporting what I read for your edification.  This new pet that has Australians all a twitter sells for up to $100 for a breeding pair.  The cuddly, lovable pet I’m referring to is none other than… wait for it… the giant burrowing cockroach!

Seriously.  The giant burrowing cockroach.  Putting the word ‘giant’ and ‘cockroach’ together in the same sentence would be enough to give my lovely wife a seizure, but in Australia they are paying money for the privilege of bringing the little beasties into their homes.

Sydney University unveiled the delightful Heathcliff the Giant Burrowing Cockroach to the world yesterday.  He’s more than nine centimeters long from the tip of his grotesque antenna to the end of his disgusting little hind legs.  Being American, I have no idea how long nine centimeters is, but it sounds like it’s a big bug.

Heathcliff (I can’t believe they name bugs in the land of the kangaroo) was a hit at the university’s annual open house day.  Visitors could see not only the slimy little varmint close up, but they also took turns trying to guess how much he weighs (35 grams, apparently).  Those Aussies sure know how to have a good time.  Maybe next year they can get together to look at a pile of dingo dung and try to guess what he had for dinner.

I kid, I kid.  I love Australians.  It’s the creepy, disease-carrying giant bugs that I’m not so crazy about.

All ant societies are composed entirely of females; males have only one purpose to fertilize the queen and then die. The queen which is a thousand times the body weight of the smallest worker is the only ant that is fertile. Every worker is her daughter. There can be hundreds of thousands of ants in a nest. The Ants of Indonesia can have trunk trails that lead from the nest to be as long as 300 feet. If one scales the trunk to the size of a minor worker it would be 30 miles long. The traffic often runs heavy and the number of ants can reach a thousand. There are traffic rules as well. Ants returning to the nest travel near the middle and outbound ants keep to the sides.

This trail is the passage through which all food travels to the nest. The path is constantly maintained and cleared of any debris such as leaves and twigs that may make it less passable. About half the diet is mostly seeds from vegetables.

There are more than 15,000 ant species and they employ a variety of strategies to search and appropriate food. The ants of Indonesia hunt in groups but the workers of other species hunt alone. The Asian jumping ant can make startling leaps and travel as far as a hundred feet from its nest.

These ants of Indonesia when working together are able to capture prey thousands of times their own weight. Victims include spiders, cockroaches, crickets, and scorpions. To bring down an earthworm of four inches it may require as much as a hundred workers.