Images

Bombus fraternus - Here is one of the very uncommon bumblebees that are of great concern these days, due to introduced parasites that have caused this species and its sister taxa to crash. Fortunately, they are still around, at least in small numbers.

The most common of all the eastern Bumblebees, Bombus impatiens, is something of the cow/chicken/pig of the non-honeybee world. Now used throughout the continent to fertilize plants in greenhouse cultivation. Note the whitish rather than yellowish light colored hairs and that the first segment of the abdomen has light hairs, but remainder are black.

A bit bedragled specimen of the bumble bee B. melanopygus from Yosemite National Park. We weren't quite up to speed on our hair dressing when we prepped this specimen. Part of Claire Kremen's study of the bees of the park. Photo by Anders Croft.

If you were in the Badlands of South Dakota in the Summer, and were paying attention to your bumblebees, you would see this one. Bombus nevadensis. It is big and the queens are extra beefy. This is one of the dark bumbles. More black on the sides of the body and tinted wings.

More shots of a queen Bombus affinis...the newly minted endangered Bumble Bee. This specimen is from the National Collection at the Smithsonian and was collected in Racine, Wisconsin in 1965 when times were easy for this species. Collected by L.W.

More shots of a queen Bombus affinis...the newly minted endangered Bumble Bee. This specimen is from the National Collection at the Smithsonian and was collected in Racine, Wisconsin in 1965 when times were easy for this species. Collected by L.W.

This, I feel, is as piquant as a picture can be. We are a production shop, we parse thousands of insect specimens collected by many people. At times, like this one, specimens come in that are uncommon or part of a study (here from a survey of Hart-Miller Island by Gene Scarpulla) and you take what you get.

More from last year's expedition to Chile with Laurence Packer. Such a lovely country...we camped in a new place every day. Ping ponging from the Andes to the Coast sleeping along the road or in open pastures. Lovely people, easy travel, no problems with law enforcement people. This is a Caenohalictus species of some kind.

As the name implies this species from East of the Andes superficially resembles the parasitic bee genus Nomada. However for whatever reason they have chosen from the wardrobe of bee colors the same cloths they act quite differently. Of note is that both the males and females of this species gather oil in addition to the usual pollen and nectar.

A composite specialist. This is a small species that inhabits the central plains of the continent; leaking a bit east and west. Collected in Badlands of South Dakota. Photo by Kelly Graninger.

A composite specialist. This is a small species that inhabits the central plains of the continent; leaking a bit east and west. Collected in Badlands of South Dakota. Photo by Kelly Graninger.

The female of the already portrayed male Calliopsis edwardsii from Yosemite National Park and collected for a project done by Lauren Ponisio examining the effect of fire diversity on bees (Ponisio et al. Global Change Biol. 2016). Photograph by Anders Croft.

Now this is a rare bee, I have never seen or collected this species before seeing this lovely male in Kassie Urban-Mead's collection of bees from Connecticut, she collected it last year in a field on Verbena, there are only a scattering of records from NJ to Connecticut representing a disjunct population from the populations occurring in the western prairies, perhap

Wayyyyyy up in the Andes spitting distance from Argentina, this wee Callonychium chilense was collected on an expedition with Laurence Packer to southern Chile. One of those one way dirt roads that hugs the mountains and gives one opportunity to fall into the valley in a truly spectacular way. Memorable.

Southern South America is where you will find this as yet another group of relatively little studied bees. This one collected in Peru by the Packer lab and has some nice Wing Interference Pop.

This lovely purple blue Chrysidid wasp was found be Gene Scarpulla on the dredge spoil augmented Hart-Miller Island in the Chesapeake Bay. It is interesting to ponder whey these nest parasites are inevitably a bright metallic color and not something seemingly more cryptic (cryptic to an insect and cryptic to a mammal are likely two different things).

Cuba, GTMO, Guantanamo Bay

Ah....the redbud a lovely native leguminous north american small tree. Widely planted, awesome pollinator pollen and nectar food source...and...very interestingly, it has clear seed pods until mid summer which allows investigators to look at rates of pollination....could be used as a sentinel and a great citizen science project.

Just one of many kinds of bees for which we know little to nothing. Beautiful wings though! This specimen comes from Brazil and was found in Laurence Packer's lab 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.

Chamaesyce maculata, Spotted Spurge, August 2012, Beltsville, Maryland

A series of pictures of a male and female species that loves Bellflowers (Campanula). Meaning that the female of this species provisions its nest (note: males never help in all Hymenoptera) with the pollen of this plant.