Images

Callistethus marginatus - A scarab beetle in the Shining Leaf Chafer subfamily of the Scarab Beetles. This one from Somerset County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The photograph is taken by Betsy Bangert and Mike Burchett.

A tiny Australian. One associated with the many members of plants in the myrtle family on that continent.

Fiery Searcher. Calosoma scrutator hunts caterpillars, is big, fast, and spectacular. Just exactly why it is spectacular is clear, when attached it exudes odor heavy on the bad smells and who would want to eat that. So, if you like to dress up in iridescence of any kinds, then just be sure to bring along some repellent to keep the predators at bay.

Camponotus chromaiodes (Thank you James Trager for determination) from Chino Farms, Maryland

Dominican Republic

Canomaculina species, Beltsville, MD 2012

A nest parasite, this time a male. Coelioxys octodentata is a counterpart to the more commonly found C. sayi. I associate this species with drier and perhaps sandier locations, perhaps as the nest parasite of things like Megachile brevis. Note the characteristic teeth sticking out of the rear of this 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.

The most common Coelioxys in the East. This is C. sayi. Now, C. sayi is a nest parasite (like all Coelioxys) and it likes to drop its eggs in the nest of what is usually the most common Leaf Cutter in the East Megachile mendica.

The most common Coelioxys in the East. This is C. sayi. Now, C. sayi is a nest parasite (like all Coelioxys) and it likes to drop its eggs in the nest of what is usually the most common Leaf Cutter in the East Megachile mendica.

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.

Coelioxys vigilans, Dominican Republic

Coelioxys coturnix, female, Maryland, July 2012, Cumberland

Coelioxys coturnix, female, Maryland, July 2012, Cumberland

Rare. This bee (Colletes aestivalis) is rarely seen these days. I have never collected one despite it being recorded in Maryland in the far distant past. So it was nice to see this specimen from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia collected by Jessica Rykken in her studies of the Park's bee fauna. Good news.

Rare. This bee (Colletes aestivalis) is rarely seen these days. I have never collected one despite it being recorded in Maryland in the far distant past. So it was nice to see this specimen from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia collected by Jessica Rykken in her studies of the Park's bee fauna. Good news.

Rare. This bee (Colletes aestivalis) is rarely seen these days. I have never collected one despite it being recorded in Maryland in the far distant past. So it was nice to see this specimen from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia collected by Jessica Rykken in her studies of the Park's bee fauna. Good news.

Colletes brevocornis, and uncommonly collected species, one that I associate with dry open areas, it is perhaps a specialist on Venus looking glass in the campanulae family. Difficult to say, since so few have been collected but that is our best guess at this time.

Colletes brevocornis, and uncommonly collected species, one that I associate with dry open areas, it is perhaps a specialist on Venus looking glass in the campanulae family. Difficult to say, since so few have been collected but that is our best guess at this time.

Colletes brevocornis, and uncommonly collected species, one that I associate with dry open areas, it is perhaps a specialist on Venus looking glass in the campanulae family. Difficult to say, since so few have been collected but that is our best guess at this time.