Beelieve it or not, this blue bee is the real deal! 🐝 Meet the blue carpenter bee (Xylocopa caerulea). This large bee can reach lengths of up to 1.1 in (2.8 cm); compare that to a European honey bee which typically grows up to 0.7 in (1.8 cm) long! Unlike honeybees, this critter doesn’t live in large hives, but instead spends most of its time alone. This insect can be found in parts of India, China, and Southeast Asia where it plays an important role in pollinating its habitat. 

Godfrey Frankel

Simone de Beauvoir, from Diary of a Philosophy Student: Volume 1, 1926-27

"You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it."

In the Pamir Mountains bordering the countries of Tajikistan, Pakistan and China lives tribes of nomadic Kyrgyz Afghans isolated from the wars in Afghanistan.