Bug Squad

"Bee health" is on the minds of beekeepers, scientists, farmers, growers, gardeners, environmentalists and generally, everyone who cares about bees. Which should be everyone.

Quick! What do you think of when someone mentions "honey bees and mosquitoes" in the same sentence? Honey bees are the pollinators, the beneficial insects. Infected mosquitoes transmit killer diseases such as malaria and dengue; they are our most dangerous insect enemies on the planet.

"Spring is the busiest time of year for honey bees, and their keepers, whether the operation is in the desert uplands of southern Arizona, the citrus groves of Florida, or the apple orchards of Washington state," writes entomologist/bee expert Stephen "Steve" Buchmann in his book, Honey Bees: Letter...

How to celebrate Valentine's Day? Well, without pollinators, we wouldn't be celebrating Valentine's Day as we know it. That box of chocolates? Give thanks to the midges that pollinated the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao.

If you see a news story about "honey bees" in a newspaper or magazine, odds are you'll see it spelled as one word, "honeybees." That's because the Associated Press Stylebook, the journalists' "bible," spells it that way. So do dictionaries. However, in the entomological world, that's incorrect.