Images

This bee, Coelioxys immaculata, is an uncommon nest parasite of other bees. Almost by definition it must be less common since the young C. immaculata usurps a cell of a leaf-cutter bee, kills the host baby bee and eats its food before emerging the next year. Note the interesting pattern of lobes on its tail end. Mysterious.

This bee, Coelioxys immaculata, is an uncommon nest parasite of other bees. Almost by definition it must be less common since the young C. immaculata usurps a cell of a leaf-cutter bee, kills the host baby bee and eats its food before emerging the next year. Note the interesting pattern of lobes on its tail end. Mysterious.

Coelioxys modesta, male, Maryland

Coelioxys....invader of Megachile nests. This female is designed to slice into Meg nests and insert and egg which later will kill the baby leaf cutter and consume the food. This one is from the Southwest, Coelioxys novomexicana. This bee was collected in the California Central Valley in Yolo County for research on small-scale restoration in agricultural areas.

Coelioxys....invader of Megachile nests. This female is designed to slice into Meg nests and insert and egg which later will kill the baby leaf cutter and consume the food. This one is from the Southwest, Coelioxys novomexicana. This bee was collected in the California Central Valley in Yolo County for research on small-scale restoration in agricultural areas.

Super rare. Only a few individuals of this species have been found, but, interestingly, this species has been found twice in Missouri, and once in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida. This one was sent to me by Mike Arduser and collected in Clark County, Missouri. Note the lovely flair of hairs around the end of the abdomen....very distinctive.

An invader of other bees nests, this is Coelioxys porterae, found, in this case from Acadia National Park in Maine. I can't recall which species of Megachile (leaf cutting bees) this species parasitizes us but there are plenty of options in the park. This is a male, and as with almost all males it has all kinds of pointy projections on its rear end.

Another Coelioxys nest parasite bee from the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This one is a nest parasite of big Leaf Cutters like Megachile latimanus. Here are shots of a male and a female.

Another Coelioxys nest parasite bee from the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This one is a nest parasite of big Leaf Cutters like Megachile latimanus. Here are shots of a male and a female.

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.

Spring Beauties...taken by Helen Lowe Metzman...one of the most common and most productive of plants for spring bees. It even has its own species Andrena erigeniae that uses the pink pollen of this plant soley to feed its young.

Cleonus piger, the sluggish weevil, was discovered for the first time, infesting the roots of Pitcher's thistle, in 2013. It typically kills the plant and if it is an adult, the plant is killed before seeds can be produced.

A small crisp little parasitic bee from South America, one of only 3 species, and all apparent nest parasites on their sister taxa Tetrapedia. From the Packer Lab.

A small crisp little parasitic bee from South America, one of only 3 species, and all apparent nest parasites on their sister taxa Tetrapedia. From the Packer Lab.

Interesting and very uncommon bee. Meet Coelioxys banksi. I have only seen a couple, both from NJ, I think. What bee is their host? There are specimens from the East Coast and from the West with a hiatus in the middle. Are they different species or are we simply lousy at finding them? What ever is going on , a pretty slick looking bee.

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.

The dark and mysterious nest parasite of Megachile xylocopoides, one of the few records for the state of Maryland, but more are expected as M. xylocopoides spreads northward. This specimen from Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Kent County.

Another Chrysidid wasp (cuckoo wasp) from the Hart-Miller Dredge Spoil site in Baltimore Harbor, collected by Eugene Scarpulla, photographed by Brooke Alexander Identification by Lynn KimseyCanon 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 o

Another Chrysidid wasp (cuckoo wasp) from the Hart-Miller Dredge Spoil site in Baltimore Harbor, collected by Eugene Scarpulla, photographed by Brooke Alexander Identification by Lynn KimseyCanon 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 o

Chrysochus auratus, Indian Hemp Beetle, Beltsville, Maryland