Images

An invader of other bees nests, this is Coelioxys porterae, found, in this case from Acadia National Park in Maine. I can't recall which species of Megachile (leaf cutting bees) this species parasitizes us but there are plenty of options in the park. This is a male, and as with almost all males it has all kinds of pointy projections on its rear end.

Coelioxys sayi, female, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Odenton, Maryland

Coelioxys sayi, female, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Odenton, Maryland

Chino Farms Maryland....they are restoring their grasslands and open land on what I think is the largest farm in Maryland;and as a bonus they got a specimen of the very rare Colletes brevicornis. Hannah and Ashleigh, new interns from my lab took this picture...good job.

Colletes cariniger: one of the larger early spring species and also one of the more common species in its genus in Greece. The females seen commonly foraging for pollen in fields full of composites like chamomile, mayweed and ragwort. This one was collected by Jelle Devalez on the Aegean Islands. Photograph by Brooke Alexander.

Super cool, Super rare, Super fun. Who would say such a thing about a little brown bee? In this case it is Colletes ciliatus. Here is a bee that was featured in a paper we wrote several years ago as one of the "missing bees" not seen for many years.

Colletes compactus is a late fall Colletes, specializing on things like goldenrod. Colletes is an interesting group....different species coming out throughout the year and many of them highly specialized in what they gather pollen from. They perhaps are all specialists, but some are quite rare and so we know little (a common story).

Cow Path Tiger Beetle - Cicindella purpurea. Found on Will's Mountain outside of Cumberland Maryland. Found in low numbers in the Piedmont and Mountains of the state, a juicy little bug hunter. Photo by Erick Hernandez.

A series of shots of Citrus Psyllid adults (including a recently emerged white adult) , and larvae of Diaphorina citri which is the transporting agent of citrus greening disease now devastating Florida's orange groves. Pictures taken at Level 3 level quarantine at USDA's Lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. Thanks to Tina Paul for fascilitating all of this.

A series of shots of Citrus Psyllid adults (including a recently emerged white adult) , and larvae of Diaphorina citri which is the transporting agent of citrus greening disease now devastating Florida's orange groves. Pictures taken at Level 3 level quarantine at USDA's Lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. Thanks to Tina Paul for fascilitating all of this.

Spring Beauties...taken by Helen Lowe Metzman...one of the most common and most productive of plants for spring bees. It even has its own species Andrena erigeniae that uses the pink pollen of this plant soley to feed its young.

Cleonus piger, the sluggish weevil, was discovered for the first time, infesting the roots of Pitcher's thistle, in 2013. It typically kills the plant and if it is an adult, the plant is killed before seeds can be produced.

A small crisp little parasitic bee from South America, one of only 3 species, and all apparent nest parasites on their sister taxa Tetrapedia. From the Packer Lab.

A small crisp little parasitic bee from South America, one of only 3 species, and all apparent nest parasites on their sister taxa Tetrapedia. From the Packer Lab.

Interesting and very uncommon bee. Meet Coelioxys banksi. I have only seen a couple, both from NJ, I think. What bee is their host? There are specimens from the East Coast and from the West with a hiatus in the middle. Are they different species or are we simply lousy at finding them? What ever is going on , a pretty slick looking bee.

Another Coelioxys nest parasite bee from the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This one is a nest parasite of big Leaf Cutters like Megachile latimanus. Here are shots of a male and a female.

Another Coelioxys nest parasite bee from the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This one is a nest parasite of big Leaf Cutters like Megachile latimanus. Here are shots of a male and a female.

Acadia National Park, Maine

This is the male of a species that parasitizes Megachile (leaf cutter nests) by laying their eggs in the nest of the host, after which the young Coelioxys sodalis emerges and kills the host larvae and consumes the pollen and nectar of the host's young. About 20% of all bees work on this model.

An uncommon southern bee, many in this group of bees species feed their babies pollen only from certain plants. It is unclear if that is that case for this species...something for a good southerner to take up instead of playing Angry Birds all the time. Yet another magic bee collected by Sabrie Breland, southern bee magnet.

Colletes inaequalis, female, Prince George's County Maryland