Bug Squad

Since this is National Pollinator Week, you're probably out celebrating the bees--maybe doing hand stands, cartwheels and pirouettes. But have you ever thought about beetles as pollinators? They are. We spotted this little critter on a California golden poppy at the Sonoma Mission in Sonoma, Calif.

Sometimes you see honey bees "making a beeline." Such was the case when this honey bee (below) encountered a native wildflower, blue lupine (Lupinus). Lupines are known more as pollen plants than nectar plants, according to Frank Pellett's book, American Honey Plants, a Dadant publication.

It won't be lock, stock and barrel, but it will be stock. A team of scientists from UC Davis and Washington State University will be heading for Italy tomorrow (June 19) to gather germplasm (sperm) of Old World/Italian honey bee stock.

Let's have a pause--and applause--for the pollinators. Next week, June 18-24, is National Pollinator Week, as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

I've been asked how I did it. How did I manage to capture that rare image of a honey bee sting that won the feature photo award presented June 11 by the international Association for Communication Excellence (ACE)? The bee is tugging a long strand of abdominal tissue as it tries to pull away.