Bug Squad

She didn't know it was National Pollinator Week. If she had, she would have paid it no mind. She just knew that this was some fine pollen as she struggled to fit inside the strawberry blossom. The honey bee, Apis mellifera, is like that: determined, decisive, and mission-bound.

It's all about insect courtship rituals and intimacy, or what entomologists sometimes call "insect wedding photography." The Bay Area-based SaveNature.

Hats off to the communicators affiliated with the University of California, Davis, and the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) for their international awards.

Got squash blossoms? You've probably got squash bees. Unlike honey bees, which are generalists, squash bees are specialists. They pollinate only members of the cucurbits or squash family, Cucurbitaceae, which includes pumpkins, squash, gourds, cucumbers and zucchini.

It is indeed a lovely beast, as lepidopterist Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, says. Ann Sievers, owner, grower and miller of Il Fiorello Olive Oil Co.