Images

A Series: This is a set of slate gorgets and fragments there of. This fragment was found along the banks of the Patuxent River in Maryland but the slate is from Central Ohio. Other artifacts indicate that this site had been used for thousands of years as a ritual site by Adena culture Indians with numerous items brought in from Ohio (imagine that!).

Experiment - Thanks to the person for suggesting looking into one-way glass to eliminate double reflections in shots taken on glass. In this case the robberfly was photographed on a piece of glass that was coated with the mirror finish one-way film that you can buy in the hardware store for to add daytime privacy to your houses.

Dead Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, after striking a building in the fall of 2012 in Washington D.C. Collected by Lights out DC

sand wasp, female, Sand Wasp from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). An early early spring flower. Named the blood red interior of its root. So red it was used by Native Americans to paint their faces and as a dye. No eating this baby though it is full of alkaloids. Interestingly, one of those alkaloids, sanguinarine is in some mouthwashes.

Stelis australis....A nice colorful Stelis from the pinelands of Georgia. This group is likely to be a nest parasite (lays eggs in nests of other bees) of species in the uncommon Megachilidae bee genus Trachusa, so overall a very rare bee on an uncommon to rare host. Nice to see that such things still exist. This one was collected by Sabrie Breland.

Not awesome pictures, but sometimes we need to take pictures of very rare specimens not because they are beautiful in aspect but because they are all we have. Stelis foederalis is a rare nest parasite of presumably Osmia species. These were found on Isle Royale wayyyyy up in Lake Superior closer to Canada than Michigan.

Stelis labiata "“ A female of a very rare species found, in this case in the sandhills of North Carolina, collected by Heather Campbell

Stelis labiata "“ A female of a very rare species found, in this case in the sandhills of North Carolina, collected by Heather Campbell

Stelis labiata "“ A male of a very rare species found, in this case in the sandhills of North Carolina, collected by Heather Campbell and photographed by Amber Joyce.

One of the very common Flower Chafers....They often fake me out when collecting bees on flowers as they fly amazingly well.

The Cabbage Looper. 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.

A rather dark and dangerous looking be from Chile. This is

This species nests in standing dead columnar cactus in South America. The genus as a whole lives along the western coast of South America. Interestingly one of the species has been found to nest in horse manure, which brings up the point of where did they nest before horses were introduced into South America. So many mysteries.

Note the lovely bee tools this species has, in the shape of expanded tibial spurs.This species nests in standing dead columnar cactus in South America. The genus as a whole lives along the western coast of South America.

A new Washington DC record, Triepeolus cressonii, captured in the Kenilworth aquatic Gardens along the Anacostia River. A very urban landscape, but one that still retains quite a bit of original nature thanks to the work of the National Park Service maintains the property as well as adjacent areas along this quiet backwater.

Galleria mellonella - The waxworm. The rather muscular and chiseled form of an introduced pest of bees nests. In this case this bad boy was found in a bumble bee nest that was built in a chickadee nest that the bumble bee queen had kicked out of the nestbox in suburban Maryland. So it goes in nature. Picture by Wayne Boo. Waxworm wrangling by Desiree Narango.

Trifolium repens, White Clover head, Beltsville, Maryland lawn

Xanthorhiza simplicissima, Yellowroot. A long tradition in eastern North American of using this shrubby Ranunculus family plant for dyeing and medicine. Plant and specimen from Helen Lowe Metzman.

One of the most common bees in the East...if only we could figure out how to identify it more easily. Here we have Lasioglossum trigeminum. Fits right in with A. admirandum, A. versatum, and A. callidum and I often struggle with dark second thoughts about the specimens Id, because of all the overlap.

A common Carpenter Bee in Kruger National Park where they hang out in blooming trees (particularly legumes) once the trees start blooming with the austral spring rains. Looks a bit like the road stripers got a hold of her. Xylcopa caffra. Identified by Jonathan Mawdsley. Photo by Kelly Graninger.