Images

Anthophora curta....found in the drylands/deserts of western U.S. and Mexico. This is a rather small Anthophora and like many of the group, well groomed with small, short, mini=branched hairs. It seems to prefer composites and this particular one was found near the nowhere place of San Simone, Arizona at the eastern edge of its range. Collected by Don Harvey.

One of the common species found in early spring in the olive groves and flower-rich phryganic habitats of Greece. Little is known about this species and some of its sibling species and there is a great deal of confusion regarding its identity. Collected by Jelle Devalez in the Aegean islands.

One of the common species found in early spring in the olive groves and flower-rich phryganic habitats of Greece. Little is known about this species and some of its sibling species and there is a great deal of confusion regarding its identity. Collected by Jelle Devalez in the Aegean islands.

Another small Anthophora from the West Coast. This one is A. exigua and was collected in Yosemite National Park as part of ongoing studies of the fire ecology of that Park by the Claire Kremen Laboratory.

Compact small bee want to meet compact small flowers. Anthophora flexipes is definitely cute, though, of course, we can let that shade its importance as a pollinator in the high lands of Yosemite National Park.

A wee little Anthophora. Meet Anthophora flexipes. I don't know much about this species since it lives out West where I don't live, but it is cute and it is an Anthophora. Collected way up the mountains from a burn study in Yosemite National Park by Claire Kremen's bee study group.

A wee little Anthophora. Meet Anthophora flexipes. I don't know much about this species since it lives out West where I don't live, but it is cute and it is an Anthophora. Collected way up the mountains from a burn study in Yosemite National Park by Claire Kremen's bee study group.

This bee was collected as part of a survey of Rocky Mountain National Park. The size of a bumblebee, but has all those cream colored markings on its face that Bumblebees never have. A male in this case.

Third in the series, you can see the characters in the forewing that make this an Anthophora....the lack of hair in the interior of the wing cells and the regularly spaced little pappilate mounds with a hair sticking out of them outside of those cells.

Male, Anthophora plumipes, introduced into Maryland from Japan in the 1980s...and now common in the DC region. Likely to be split from A. plumipes back to an earlier synonym A. pilipes due to recent molecular work

Eucerinoda gayi, Gay 's EucerineClaude Gay was a French entomologist who in the early 1800 's traveled to Chile to teach. However natural history was his passion and he spent most of his time in the country studying the plants, animals, and geology.

Eucerinoda gayi, Gay 's EucerineClaude Gay was a French entomologist who in the early 1800 's traveled to Chile to teach. However natural history was his passion and he spent most of his time in the country studying the plants, animals, and geology.

Osiris, Atlatl Godbee, Collected in ColombiaThe ancient Egyptian God Osiris was associated with both the afterlife and a greenish skin, and at least indirectly with Honey Bees.

More unknown species of bees from the Packer Lab at York University. Here collected in Brazil. 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.

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.

Perilla frutescens, or Beefsteak Plant, a much hated invasive plant, but does have the virtue of both being edible and having lovely remnant seeds pods even after a long winter. Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Lighting Experiment: Agroiconota bivittata - Another tortoise beetle, this one from a glycol trap collected by Brooke Alexander and photographed by Amber Reese, in this case the trick was to increase the lighting on the lower edge, what worked was laying a portion of styrofoam cup slit lengthwise ala butternut squash which nicely reflect the bounced flash back up o

Clerid Beetle, Enoclerus ichneumoneus, Prince George's County, Maryland

Yet another Tortoise Beetle, in this case one with a common name, the Mottled Tortoise Beetle, Deloyala guttata, a feeder on Morning Glory vines, in this case likely a feeder on Sweet Potato Vines (which are nothing but morning glory roots) collected by Brooke Alexander and picture taken by Amber Reese

A deep dimensional ethereal midnight blue, this picture only partially portraits the subtle beauty of this beetle captured on a flower during our study of pollinator webs in the Badlands

Experimental shot - Here is a beetle from by-catch from Badlands National Park. The beetle is placed on a piece of glass and stack shot using our usual set up but with black felt on the rear of the glass to minimize the gray color that seems to come from light refracting in the glass behind the specimen.