Images

An Uncommon (or is it?) Deerberry specialist. If you don't collect bees on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) you will never see this bee (Panurginus atramontensis). It only gathers pollen and probably almost all of its nectar from this plant.

An Uncommon (or is it?) Deerberry specialist. If you don't collect bees on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) you will never see this bee (Panurginus atramontensis). It only gathers pollen and probably almost all of its nectar from this plant.

Pseudopanurgus labrosiformis, female

A mysterious group, Pseudopanurgus, not very common, probably are to some extent plant specialists, but little studied, almost for sure there are several new species throughout North America and even in the eastern portions, but yet, but yet"¦where is the young ready to embrace a new Adventure and sort all this lovely diversity?

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, 2011

I have nicknamed this bee (Ptilothrix bombiformis) the refuge bee because it is found so often on National Wildlife Refuges. Why? Well this species is a hibiscus specialist and refuges are full of impoundments and those impoundments often have fresh water hibiscus plants in them.

One of the most common bees in the East...if only we could figure out how to identify it more easily. Here we have Lasioglossum trigeminum. Fits right in with A. admirandum, A. versatum, and A. callidum and I often struggle with dark second thoughts about the specimens Id, because of all the overlap.

On a recent trip to York University to take pictures of bees from around the world, I was returning to his lab after a coffee field trip and was struck by the beautiful lines of some fresh red oak acorns.

Rediviva species, Black Daddy Longlegs Oil Bee, collected in South Africa We showed the male already...here is the female.What fantastically cool bees! These bees have extremely long front legs that they use to collect oil from plants, using the oil instead of nectar as food for the larvae. At the end of their legs are sponge-like patches of hairs.

Here is one of the native azaleas...with the lovely name Pinxter (Rhododendron periclymenoides).

Rhynchomitra species, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, August 2012, Planthopper

Rhynchomitra species, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, August 2012, Planthopper

A Series: This is a set of slate gorgets and fragments there of. This fragment was found along the banks of the Patuxent River in Maryland but the slate is from Central Ohio. Other artifacts indicate that this site had been used for thousands of years as a ritual site by Adena culture Indians with numerous items brought in from Ohio (imagine that!).

A bee I often associate with Sandy areas...this one captured on Cape Cod National Seashore as part of comparative studies of dune loving bees.

This bee is part of a taxonomic mystery spanning the continent. It turns out that the male of this species is very likely named as O. trevoris, by a long ago taxonomist., All specimens were thought to be limited to the West, but....there were these strange Osmia around the Great Lakes that were sometimes called (incorrectly it now seems) O.

Ah, another beautiful green Osmia bee from the western U.S. O. kincaidii is the name, makes nest in holes in wood and lines them with leaf pulp. Praise the color selections that Nature provides. Collected in Yosemite National Park by Claire Kremen's Bee Troopers. Photograph by Anders Croft.

Ah, another beautiful green Osmia bee from the western U.S. O. kincaidii is the name, makes nest in holes in wood and lines them with leaf pulp. Praise the color selections that Nature provides. Collected in Yosemite National Park by Claire Kremen's Bee Troopers. Photograph by Anders Croft.

Osmia laeta. There are quite a number of Osmia out there. Despite their beauty, they can be irritatingly difficult to split apart. People who can help with identifications are definitely the bottleneck. This beauty comes from Yosemite National Park...part of the many studies of the Claire Kremen lab. Photo by Samia Shell and Lela Versteegen.

The classic Blue Orchard Bee, that many gardeners make nests for by drilling blocks of wood or buying little houses or straws. All well and good except for the fact that 2 recent Asian Osmia species are now starting to dominate populations in both urban and rural areas. O. taurus and O. cornifrons.

Who doesn't love an Osmia...particularly an Osmia paradisica from the under visited Great Basin National Park. Picture taken by Brooke Alexander. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200.

Who doesn't love an Osmia...particularly an Osmia paradisica from the under visited Great Basin National Park. Picture taken by Brooke Alexander. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200.