Images

The Madagascan sunset moth, yes indeed a Moth not a butterfly. Endemic to the Island of Madagascar. Large, migratory, and day flying it is another example of Nature's breaking of the rules. The colors are not created by pigments but by the structure of the scales themselves (look it up...very cool).

Varroa destructor, the leading cause of beekeeper angst. This relatively large mite parasitizes honeybees from adults to larvae. Crab-like aren't they? Specimen provided by Krisztina Christmon from the University of Maryland where she studies the life history of these tricky beings. Oh, that is the tip of an insect pin you see in the picture.

More Velvet Ant pictures...who wouldn't want more shots of this Badass Cowkiller? This one from Arkansas sent live in the mail by our correspondent FT. Its good to have such friends. Photos by Wayne Boo.

Anticarsia gemmatalis - Velvetbean Caterpillar - Soybean eater....this species can't overwinter in most of North America but moves north to populate bean and legume fields in large enough numbers to become a major pest, but like our other pesty moths...pretty sharp looking when you get to know them personally. Specimen provided by Benzon Research.

Culvers Root, Veronicastrum virginicum. Whenever this is in bloom it has bees on it. Specimen and Picture by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Culvers Root, Veronicastrum virginicum. Whenever this is in bloom it has bees on it. Specimen and Picture by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Yo, Triepeolus people you are darn sharp looking bees. Here is T. donatus. Collected near State College in Pennsylvania by Laura Russo. Its host is going to be a Melissodes, in this case M.

Oh look, another Triepeolus. In this case it is T. helianthi from West Virginia from Kanawha County. Most likely this was collected by the fabulous Jane Whitaker, who covered most of the state in her collecting adventures. A fabulous contribution in an unexplored beescape. Photo by Sara Guerrieri.

Oh look, another Triepeolus. In this case it is T. helianthi from West Virginia from Kanawha County. Most likely this was collected by the fabulous Jane Whitaker, who covered most of the state in her collecting adventures. A fabulous contribution in an unexplored beescape. Photo by Sara Guerrieri.

An unknown species of Triepeolus from the southern most part of Georgia. Not sure what species as it doesn't seem to key out very well to any particular species. Will have to send off to Molly Gee for ID. Collected by Dave Gruenewald who is studying the bees in southern pine plantations.

A small Triopasites specimen from Cochise County, Arizona. Collected by Don Harvey on one of his expeditions to the area. This wee bee is a nest parasite of a group of similarly sized wee bees in the genus Anthophorula, mostly, but not entirely desert species. Lots to learn about this group. Photograph by Sydney Price.

Pyrgotidae - Trypetoptera canadensis - Thanks to Bill Murphy for the determination. This little beauty came to my moth light last night.

Trypoxylon subimpressum, Cuba, GTMO,

Spectacular in its glittering blue hairs, this humpbacked bee is another nest parasite, in this case it lays its eggs in the nests of Blue-banded bees (Amegilla). This particular baby was collected in the Philippines by C.F. Baker in the early part of the last century.

Another Thyreus...this one white and of unknown species and from Ethiopia. You can see from frazzled ends of the wings this female was relatively old. Like all Thyreus it breaks open the nests of Amegilla and perhaps other related species such as Anthophora.

Another view of the lovely golden tortoise beetle. Upper Marlboro, Maryland. 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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

Upper Marlboro, MD, May 2012This species has a common name:Dimorphic Tosale Mothbut it also has been named by the Doug InkleyThe George Washington Moth

Who doestn't love a nicely striped bee? Truchusa dorsalis on display here with stripes made on Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia and later picked up by the Virginia Heritage Group in their surveys. This is a new state record, somewhat bridging records in the Pine Barrens of NJ and those of the North Carolina.

A lovely Centris from Puerto Rico, collected by Sara Prado

Hermaphrodite! (aka a gynandromorph) This Agapostemon texanus or angelicus (species can't be determined here) is part male and part female. This happens in I think all animals and I have seen about 5 of these after looking at about 400,000 bee specimens. This one was brought in by Tim McMahon after he collected it in Arizona.

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