Images

Cicuta maculata,Water Hemlock. The most poisonous plant in North America. Children have died using the hollow stems as blowguns. Thankfully no children play outside any longer. Photo and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman from Howard County, MD.

One of the best pollinator plants ever. This is Circium discolor (field or pasture thistle). Its a native thistle, does not invade fields, is not perennial and has a whole suite of bees that depend on it and its relatives to provide pollen for their young. Please plant some, you will be thrilled with all the big dark winged bumble bees that show up too.

One of the best pollinator plants ever. This is Circium discolor (field or pasture thistle). Its a native thistle, does not invade fields, is not perennial and has a whole suite of bees that depend on it and its relatives to provide pollen for their young. Please plant some, you will be thrilled with all the big dark winged bumble bees that show up too.

A series of shots of Citrus Psyllid adults (including a recently emerged white adult) , and larvae of Diaphorina citri which is the transporting agent of citrus greening disease now devastating Florida's orange groves. Pictures taken at Level 3 level quarantine at USDA's Lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. Thanks to Tina Paul for fascilitating all of this.

A series of shots of Citrus Psyllid adults (including a recently emerged white adult) , and larvae of Diaphorina citri which is the transporting agent of citrus greening disease now devastating Florida's orange groves. Pictures taken at Level 3 level quarantine at USDA's Lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. Thanks to Tina Paul for fascilitating all of this.

Fluorescent Leafhopper, Coelidiana colens, from Peru. Just grabbed this tiny leafhopper from the Natural History Museum at random to play with some 10x shots...would have liked to have shot this one with a fresh specimen.

Colletes productus - Lover of Lyonia. Lyonia = obscure shrub aka fetterbush/staggerbush/maleberry. There are a lot of obscure relationships out there. Here is a specialist bee dependent on an reasonably lovely ericaceous shrub. No Lyonia no C. productus and several other bees. Who speaks for Lyonia though? Can we plant our way back to native bee health.

A little series of pictures of Colletes robertsonii from the Sandhills of Nebraska...Hooker county. A Midwestern species, this male and female were found in a nice patch of flowers along the road in a small pull off. Lovely country...the Sandhills. Photos by Erick Hernandez.

Not a great specimen, but then again, the species is one we have seen only a few times... you get what you can take. As the name implies there MIGHT be a relationship between this species and golden rod. Is that true? Someone needs to look at little more deeply and perhaps look at the pollen on the bodies of these bees to make such declarations.

Not a great specimen, but then again, the species is one we have seen only a few times... you get what you can take. As the name implies there MIGHT be a relationship between this species and golden rod. Is that true? Someone needs to look at little more deeply and perhaps look at the pollen on the bodies of these bees to make such declarations.

null

A blueberry specialist. Look how long that face is...The space between the mandible and the eye is what bee heads often use to separate species. This Colletes validus has a huggggggeeee malar space...other Colletes species essentially have none, the mandible being directly at the base of the eye. Why?

Colletes nigrifrons, male, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Colletes willistoni, male, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Female Colletes compactus

Female Colletes compactus

South Carolina

South Carolina

A lovely nest parasite of Megachile (leaf-cutter bees)....from Franklin County, Virginia. Picture taken by Brooke Alexander. 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.

Coelioxys alternata, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, collected by Stephanie Wilson at the Morris Arboretum

Most Coelioxys look similar (don't you agree?), dulled gray black, heavily pitted, with strong patterns of popping white hair bands. Ah, but here, we have one arrayed in batmobile colors, glossy, midnight black with reduced pitting and purple/black wings.