Well, it seems that science and pop culture are coming together once again thanks to the hit show Big Bang Theory. Only this time, it seems things are flowing in the other direction, with scientists paying an homage to the show that has made being a geek cool in the eyes of so many. And it all began recently when a Brazilian biologist discovered a new species of bee that had been eluding scientists for years.

According to Andre Nemesio of the Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, this new species closely resembles the Euglossa ignita, a more common Western Brazilian orchid bee. Because of this, it remained unrecognized as a seperate species by biologists until very recently. In essence, the bee managed to trick scientists, which is why Nemesio decided to name it “Euglossa bazinga”, in honor of Sheldon Cooper.

In a recent paper, he explained his decision: “The specific epithet honors the clever, funny, captivating ‘nerd’ character Sheldon Cooper… Sheldon Cooper’s favorite comic word ‘bazinga,’ used by him when tricking somebody, was here chosen to represent the character. Euglossa bazinga sp. n. has tricked us for some time due to its similarity to E. ignita, what led us to use ‘bazinga.'”

In response, Steven Molaro – an executive producer of “The Big Bang Theory” – 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. In fact, after ‘Mothra’ and griffins, bees are his third-favorite flying creatures.”

Kudos Sheldon, you weird, annoying, but always entertaining and brilliantly acted nerd! I do hope they write this into the show, it would be comical to see his reaction to the news! And while we’re at it, here’s some of his greatest hits from over the years: