An account of the development of biological interest, and specifically interest in bees, by Charles D. Michener. Included topics are the role of graduate students and the relationship between behavioral studies and systematics. Sections are (a) upbringing, including initiation of biological interests, (b) early studies of bees, (c) student work at the University of California, Berkeley, (d) work at the American Museum of Natural History and in the U.S. Army, and (e) work at the University of Kansas, especially wild bee behavior and bee systematics.