Images

Petrified Forest National Monument, AZ

petrified Forest national Park, Apache County, Arizona

Fort Mantanzas has more cool bees to share with use from a tiny coastal monument run by the park service along the upper coast of Florida. This time more junior bees in the genus Perdita. Photography by Sierra Williams, photoshopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

New Vermont Species Record. This little tiny bee is a specialist on a plant that most people pull out of their gardens, Physalis, or Ground Cherry, this plant has a number of specialists associated with it and, we should think about it as something to plant in our gardens!

Another Reason that Weeds Have Value: In this case the weed is Physalis, tomitillos or ground cherries. Native to North America they are usually considered weeds unless they are one of the edible varieties, yet, they host several native bees who can only live on Physalis pollen, moving this weed in my mind a bit more to the good side of the ledger book.

Another Reason that Weeds Have Value: In this case the weed is Physalis, tomitillos or ground cherries. Native to North America they are usually considered weeds unless they are one of the edible varieties, yet, they host several native bees who can only live on Physalis pollen, moving this weed in my mind a bit more to the good side of the ledger book.

A lovely male Perdita from Fort Matanzas National Monument along the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Something so tiny that most would not call it a bee, but so very well designed in its geometries and colors. Picture by Sierra Williams, shopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

A tiny sand loving Perdita from Maryland

Who doesn't like an orchid? This is green-fringed orchid, found at the edge of the USGS Bee Lab's grounds near some woods. Nice to see this uncommon species. Planathera lacera. Photo and specimen collected by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Polistes exclamans, female, Beltsville, Maryland, Head. A social wasp queen from early spring 2013

Polistes metricus, female, Beltsville, Maryland

The Very tubular Solomon's Seal. A lovely bedding plant for your shady yard spots. Specimen and photo by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Japanese Beetle, Maryland, Beltsville, Popillia japonica, July 2012

Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. Dial it one way and you have the raw ingredients for all sorts of natural opiates, dial it another and you have poppy seeds for your bagel. Irregardless of you personal choices the seeds are indeed lovely when viewed from 10X.

A male alate or the winged reproductive form of the normally wingless ant group. The species is currently unknown, but we have it sent off to someone for identification.

This little red bee was collected on spotted beebalm. It seems to be the only species of plant, with the possibility of some close relatives being involved, that this bee finds worthy of collecting pollen from. If you Google images of spotted beebalm you'll see that it is quite the complicated and rather ornate flowering plant.

Arizona poppy pollen on Protoxaea gloriosa. Yep, the fluorescent orange Kallstroemia grandiflora, has fluorescent orange pollen and this bee loves it and becomes also fluorescent orange.

Meet an illegal immigrant. This is Pseudoanthidium nanum a bee we first realized was present about 10 years ago. It now is established in the NJ and MD areas, and I believe I saw records from the Chicago area last year. I have only found it in the most urban of urban areas on the riot of corrupting weeds that we always bring with us where ever we live.

Meet an illegal immigrant. This is Pseudoanthidium nanum a bee we first realized was present about 10 years ago. It now is established in the NJ and MD areas, and I believe I saw records from the Chicago area last year. I have only found it in the most urban of urban areas on the riot of corrupting weeds that we always bring with us where ever we live.

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Gateway National Recreation Area, National Park Service