Images

One of the most common bees in Eastern North America....a particular lover of open fields, this one from Boonesboro, Maryland

Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, Dark Purple/Blue form of this species that often occurs in coastal and Deep South situations

The most commonly captured bee in the Eastern United States is Augochlorella aurata, however, in the Deep South you start seeing some A. gratiosa, which is very, very similar, so much so that for years I thought they might be the same thing...but thankfully April Hamblin brought in a few, including a male, that turned out to be this species.

Augochlorella persimillis. A small but blingiful green bee. Oft confused with A. aurata and an interesting distribution, more MidWest but seemingly stops short of making it all the way to the East Coast...or does it? Some East Coast specimens look pretty much like this species, need to get out the molecular guns on those. Brooke Goggins is photographer.

A western Augochlorella species... this time from Zion National Park in Utah, known for its rock formations, but also protecting some darn nice bees. Kim Huntzinger identified this bad boy and Wayne Boo took the shot today and of course the staff of Zion did the bee catching.

Augochloropsis anonyma, female, Florida

Augochloropsis anonyma, female, Florida

Western Maryland, May 2012

An Experiment. The B. tinctoria seeds came from a the old Patuxent Food Habits collection. We have an entire cabinet filled with seeds collected from the teens to the 30's from around the U.S. Orphaned now, I am taking pictures so they have at least one final use.

Ah, something in the pea family. This is Baptisia tinctoria...horseflyweed. If I find a patch of this relatively uncommon plant I always spend some time seeing what bees are active around it. In particularly I am looking for Anthidiellums and other members of Megachilidae. Definitely something to plant in your yard if you can get hold of them.

Serapista species , Unknown Pillow Bee, collected in South Africa by Laurence PackerThe zebra-like markings on this bee are diagnostic, the white stripes are formed from blade like brilliant white hairs that are particularly beautiful when viewed under high magnification. This genus forms a small group of four species found only in Africa.

Pachyanthidium species, Sawtooth Sputnik Bee, collected in KenyaAnother striking Sputnik Bee from Africa. This group of bees, and the Anthidiini tribe it nestles in taxonomically, are almost all characteristically striped and spotted with bright yellow, white, and red colors on a wide body, usually also with serious amounts of pitting cratering their exoskeleton.

Pachyanthidium species, Sawtooth Sputnik Bee, collected in KenyaAnother striking Sputnik Bee from Africa. This group of bees, and the Anthidiini tribe it nestles in taxonomically, are almost all characteristically striped and spotted with bright yellow, white, and red colors on a wide body, usually also with serious amounts of pitting cratering their exoskeleton.

Dominican Republic, possible leaf beetle, floating in hand sanitizer in a cuvette

Unknown species of beetle (ID Help would be great, maybe the head of a checkered beetle????). Collected in my backyard in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Photograph by Sierra WilliamsCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

Unknown leaf beetle from Upper Marlboro, MD, found on Spatterdock. 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.

Experimental Shot of a Beetle from the Badlands of South Dakota placed on a piece of glass in our usual set up. The reflection below is very sharp except there appears to be a secondary reflection perhaps due to the 2 faces of the piece of glass interfereing, more experiments to come.

Agrotis ipsilon - Black Cutworm - Another major crop pest. This species moves into northern parts of North America after overwintering in Texas and Mexico and then pulls off a couple of generations in weedy fields and particularly impacting newly planted corn. Yet another pest that looks rather beautiful when viewed up close.

A very large Chrysidid Wasp from Kruger National Park, species unknown, Anders Croft photographer.

The Endangered Bumble Bee. Bombus affinis. The Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee. Here is a a male from Racine Wisconsin collected years ago when this species was one of the most common species. The collector was W.L. Macior and his specimens live in the National Collection at the Smithsonian.

A common Western bumblebee. This one comes via Glacier National Park as part of a survey of vulnerable areas in National Parks.