Images

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.

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.

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.

Euaspis , Redtail, collected in Kenya by Laurence PackerRedtails are another home invader of other bee 's nests. However, Redtails have a different strategy than most Cuckoo Bees. Instead of dropping an egg in the nest cell while the host bee is away, they wait until the nest of a Lithurgus or Megachile bee is complete and sealed and the female has left.

Ceratinas occur world-wide and really have the color/form/sculpturing thing down. They are the definition of crispness and elegance in my book. Expect more to come. This one comes from another worn-torn part of the world, the Crimean peninsula, but, really, bees, the study of natural history, pretty neutral ground that all can appreciate.

Mourecotelles, Unknown Hairyeye Bee, collected in ArgentinaWhat an attractive bee, unfortunately, that is about all we can say about this species other than it is found in the western temperate regions of South America.

One of the common Anthophora species found in early spring in the olive groves of Greece. They're visiting many spring flowers that provide a lot of nectar and pollen, like Muscari and Asphodelus. This particular specimen was collected by Jelle Devalez who hunts bees in the Aegean islands.

A slightly disheveled Anthophora from the Carribbean collected by Sara Prado. This species is known from Hispaniola to the western part of the Lesser Antilles. Wouldn't it be interesting to figure out the ancient history of this species colonization/evolution in the island chain. Pictures taken by intern team Maggie Yuan and Sara Guerrieri.

A slightly disheveled Anthophora from the Carribbean collected by Sara Prado. This species is known from Hispaniola to the western part of the Lesser Antilles. Wouldn't it be interesting to figure out the ancient history of this species colonization/evolution in the island chain. Pictures taken by intern team Maggie Yuan and Sara Guerrieri.

Here is a series of males and females of Anthophora urbana from Yolo County, California. This bee was collected in the California Central Valley in Yolo County for research on small-scale restoration in agricultural areas. Claire Kremen's 10-year study of hedgerows shows the benefits of planting native shrubs and forbs in agricultural areas for native bees.