Images

Elderberry...Sambucus nigra in this case....Always listed as a good bee plant, but despite all the bloom I have never been that impressed by the bee coming and going on this plant. But they do bloom over a more extended period than some more bee centric berry bushes. Pictures and plants by Helen Lowe Metzman.

null

Unknown Scale insect on Amaryllis in my laboratory in Beltsville Maryland

Eucanthus lazarus, Scarab beetle, Chino Farm, Queen Anne County, Maryland, Collector Dan Small - Determination kindly provided by Frank Guarnieri

Piranga olivacea - Sadly this particular bird collided with a building in downtown Washington D.C. and the Lights Out DC / City Wildlife found it on an early spring morning. Despite the obvious damage, it is still a wonderful looking bird. Photograph by Sue Boo.

This ubiquitous North American species can be found gathering mud for its nest almost anywhere. I have collected it in urban areas to remote villages in the center of Guyana. This specimen is from Key Biscayne National Park in Florida and was arrayed without a pin by Brooke in our lab and then photgraphed on a piece of glass by Ben

Another small mint ...here we have Scutellaria elliptica. Look close. What is going on here? Why all this architecture? lips, hoods, long corollas...why purple with white patches and spots...could it have to do with bees? so many questions. Specimen and photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Gateway National Recreation Area, National Park Service

Perdita latior, male, Arizona Petrified Forest National Park

I will have to look up the location back at the lab, but it came from one of the eastern forest service glycol traps...one of the glowworm species

Philanthus gibbosus, female, Anne Arundel County, Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge, Maryland, July 2012, Determination by Matthias Buck

Back to posting ancient fulgorid specimens from the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian. This one, Phrictus ocellatus, is similarly filthy, but cleaned up fairly well for its age...hope to one day take some fresh specimens.

The MinimalI study the lives on a leaf: the littleSleepers, numb nudgers in cold dimensions,Beetles in caves, newts, stone-deaf fishes,Lice tethered to long limp subterranean weeds,Squirmers in bogs,And bacterial creepersWriggling through woundsLike elvers in ponds,Their wan mouths kissing the warm sutures,Cleaning and caressing,Creeping and healing.

Possibly Merocoris distinctus...can any one confirm? Photographed by Dejen Mengis

Rhynchomitra microrhina, the lovely and colorful front end of the this lovely and colorful long-nosed Dictyopharid planthopper. It appears to feed on grasses and joins the huge world of native plant driven biodiversity. Can you buy a Rhynchomitra microrhina at the big box store?

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.

I THINK this is a sedge, but sadly I just grabbed it quickly while at Finzel Swamp (western Maryland) where it was blooming in clumps around the edge of the large pond located there. Any corrections to my Sedge ID would be very welcome

Ovenbird, collected with permits by Lights Out DC group in fall or spring of 2012 after colliding with buildings at night in Washington D.C.

Ovenbird , collected with permits by Lights Out DC group in spring or fall migration of 2012 after colliding with buildings at night in Washington D.C.

Seeds and various parts of Senna hebecarpa, American Senna. The details of plants blooms and other body parts have their own beauty. Pictures and specimens by Helen Lowe Metzman, Howard County, MD.

Acer saccharinumDetail along the trailing edge of the samara.