Son of a B

I know many people who have been accused of being the world's biggest b, but there exists in nature a winged creature known as the Wallace's Giant Bee (catchy, huh?) and you can just hop a flight or a boat to Indonesia if you want to see one up close and personal.

Wallace's giant bee — biologically known as Megachile pluto — is bigger than your average honeybee. The female WB is around an inch and a half in length. Look, its tongue is an inch long! And this critter comes equipped with giant mandibles, so no. Keep them in Indonesia.

Clay Bolt is a natural history photographer, which is certainly more fun than taking pictures of seventh-graders all day, and he was part of them that went to see Wallace's Giant Bee. "It was absolutely breathtaking to see this 'flying bulldog' of an insect that we weren't sure existed anymore — to have real proof right there in front of us in the wild," he said, running for his life.

Females of the species like to take over a termite nest on the side of a tree, and really, who's going to tell them they can't? After they move in, and arrange for cable and internet and mail delivery, the bees take resin and wood to make tunnels and little rooms, so that they can live in peace without sharing space with termites.  Many of the rooms have natural light and ventilation, and a little library with all the latest novels and magazines.

"To actually see how beautiful and big the species is in life, to hear the sound of its giant wings thrumming as it flew past my head, was just incredible," Bolt said.

I understand that we all have instant instinctive reactions to certain words and phrases. Among those that inspire fear and loathing are "letter from the IRS," "Lifetime movie featuring Tori Spelling," and "giant wings thrumming."