The Bug Book Rating System

I’ve decided to try to list what I read each month, and to implement a rating system.
Here’s my overly elaborate ratings scheme:
1 Roach:
Ugh. To be stomped on or thrown away
2 Flies:
Better than a Roach, but still not worth your time.
3 Cicadas:
Good, but can be annoying at times. A good way to spend some mindless [...]

Tomatoes, bees, and sex toys.

New post over at Skepchick
I’ve been having an “ask an entomologist” session over at the JREF forums, and a question came up about tomatoes and pollination. Mercutio was concerned that with the disappearing honey bees, his tomatoes might not set fruit. Learn about buzz pollination, and how electronics can [...]

More Beautiful Bees: Chrysididae

Here is my other vote for most beautiful bee: the cuckoo bee. They are a lovely shiny, metallic blue or green, with a detailed surface all over their body. They usually don’t sting, and are a type of parasitic wasp.
Their larvae are ectoparasites (external parasites) of other bee and wasp larvae. The name “cuckoo wasp” [...]

Beautiful Bees: Halictidae

I asked the JREF forum for some ideas about insect questions, and one was about a shiny green or teal bee. I’m guessing it was a halictid, which are my pick for some of the most beautiful bees around, as well as native pollinator species in the US.
They are sometimes called sweat bees, although I’ve [...]