Biologist Andre Nemesio named a new species of bee "Euglossa bazinga" in honor of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, a character from the TV series "The Big Bang Theory".

This news was announced last month in Zootaxa, a scientific journal specializing in taxonomy.

"Euglossa bazinga"

One of the producers of the TV series, Steven Molaro, said, "We are always extremely flattered when the science community embraces our show, Sheldon would be honored to know that Euglossa bazinga was inspired by him".

Sheldon Cooper is played by actor Jim Parsons, whose role has won several awards and is one of the favorite characters in the series. "Bazinga" is the word that Sheldon uses when making a joke.

The Euglossa bazinga is a bee who only pollinates on orchids, and Professor Nemesio also chose the popular name to create awareness of the damage that has been done to the habitat of wild orchids in Brazil.

VIDEO: Bazinga Moments

Brenda.Colon@sandiegored.com

Omar.Martinez@sandiegored.com