Bug Squad

Are you ready to celebrate something really important in your life? Without this "something," your table fare would be sparse. What? Honey bees. And now, there's an official day to celebrate them. The second annual National Honey Bee Awareness Day is set Saturday, Aug. 21.

Today was a day of recognition for three University of California entomology professors. The Entomological Society of America this morning announced the 2010 Fellows. Each year the governing board can elect up to 10 members as Fellows of the 6000-member society.

Do you dig digger bees (Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana)? They're populating the sandy cliffs of Bodega Head, Sonoma County. A sure sign of their presence: dense clusters of turrets.

Drones--male bees--are a favorite of youthful visitors at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis. Drones have no stingers, so they can't sting. In fact, their sole purpose in life is to mate with the virgin queen bee on her maiden flight.

Michael Parrella knows his bugs--and flowers. Flowers? He was just elected a member of California Floriculture Hall of Fame for distinguished leadership and service to the floral industry.