Images

Forgot to upload this one a while back. Just a friendly cleptoparasitic Lasioglossum, hanging out on a pin.

The little metallic members of Lasioglossum all tend to look alike until you put them under the scope, once you do you see that some of them don't have pollen carrying hairs .... such as this L. platyparium. Those are members of the genus that are cleptoparasitic on other Lasioglossum.

A rather ratty specimen of Lasioglossum prasinogaster. This one collected at Fossil Butte National Monument. One of hundreds of species of this genus...most of whose life histories are unknown but who are one of the mortared bricks of the earth's insect and plant spheres. Picture by Brooke Alexander.

sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

Lasioglossum lineatulum is defined in my mind by having relatively few pits on its scutum, a shinyish abdomen, and long straitions on the propodeal triangle. Otherwise it looks similar to the 100 plus other species in the group. This one was captured on Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan.

Here is a little tiny parasitic bee whose host is a little tiny Lasioglossum that is often very common in disturbed / lawn areas (L. imitatum). Note the big head...the long straight pointy jaws and you may have an idea about what they could be used for...but has anyone seen this? No...you should investigate instead of looking at your mobile screen all day.

From Cumberland Island National Seashore another little Lasioglossum from the glossy metallic Dialictus group. As its name implies...it has an unusually long head.

Lasioglossum marinense, from the San Juan Islands National Historic Park, found in the eastern parts of the Pacific Northwest. Photograph by Dejen Mengis.

Cuba, GTMO Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

From Organ Pipe National Monument comes the small and very common western Lasioglossum microlepoides. Just like the seemingly endless supply of these small Halictid bees, it is slightly metallic and and has a strongly bent basal vein. One could spent a couple lives just figuring out the different species. Photography by Brooke Alexander.

Lasioglossum nymphale, a bee of the coastal and interior sandhills of the Southeast

Virginia, Page County

Megachile inermis - A large female leaf cutter from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. So many species out there, it just goes on and on. Picture taken by Sierra Williams, photoshopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

A lover of yellow composites. Sunflowers and things that look like sunflowers. Megachile inimica is a big leaf cutter, quite hunky really, a bee's bee. This is a male and was collected at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.

A lover of yellow composites. Sunflowers and things that look like sunflowers. Megachile inimica is a big leaf cutter, quite hunky really, a bee's bee. This is a male and was collected at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.

Anne Arundel County, Megachile inimica, From a Sand Pit along the Patuxent River

From Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan comes one our largest Megachilids. Photograph by Brooke Alexander 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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

A common and large northern leafcutting bee. Nice orange scopal (pollen carrying ) hairs on the undercarriage and some interesting teeth patterns on the mandible, make this a relatively recognizable bee. This bad girl is from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. Photographed by Colby Francouer ..shopped by Elizabeth Garcia.

Male Tools. Check out the bright white expanded tarsal segments on this very large leaf cutting bee. These mods are used to cover the female's eyes during mating. Collected during a gathering of bee heads as part of the Adirondack Mountains ATBI BioBlitz this past week.

Found at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Picture taken by Colby Francoeur.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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile