Images

Or an old dried caterpillar, unknown species, supplied to me by Ash the insect hunter. Photo by Sara Guerrieri. Update: Ash has provided and identification of this old Caterpillar and it is a Giant Leopard Moth, Hypercompe Scribonia.

Here is both and interesting bit of history and an interesting bit of photography. This is a small portion of a slate gorget (on the right hand side you can see a hole that we drilled). This fragment was found along the banks of the Patuxent River in Maryland but the slate is from Central Ohio.

The head of a very small robber fly, how wonderful to see up close the insect solution to vision, Beltsville, Maryland

Experimental shot (see previous picture in series) , but this time taken from the front...notice the great drop off in the reflection.

A small very black bee with an extremely wide head.Note the lobe projecting from the "cheek" back towards the thorax. This is one member of a fairly large genus of bees that are restricted to tropical South America south. From...the Packer Lab.

Blackberries...(Rubus species).

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

Another shot of Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis by Helen Lowe Metzman in Howard County, Maryland. Note the lovely unfurling leaf.

Glischrochilus sanguinolentus - Another 10X shot, this of the head of a small little sap beetle that I found feeding on the cut end of a Boxelder in my backyard, apparently this beetle is fond of maples, their sap, and the associated fungi/bacteria growing on the sap.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Died in a collision with a building in Washington D.C. recovered by Lights out DC volunteer group.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

Wouldn't you want a building that looked like this...While parsing through the residues from the US Forest Service's Bent Creek Experimental Forest bee traps, Dejen Mengis found this lovely annual cicada (species unknown). The combination of residual water and the natural interference patterns of the wings created these lovely stained glass effects.

Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina, nest parasite of other bee species

Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina, nest parasite of other bee species

Nest parasite, yup, this is a bee, but one that invades the nests of leaf-cutting bees in the genus Megachile. This smart looking male was collected by bee girl Sabrie Breland in South Georgia near the Florida Border. Picture was taken by Brooke Alexander.

Stelis lateralis - A nest parasite of Osmia...often seemingly associated with O. pumila. This one was found in the New York City area in Gateway National Recreation Area. Photographed by Kamren Jefferson and photo shopped by Elizabeth Garcia.

A nest parasite of Megachile...probably of M. campanulae or M. exilis...this bee was collected at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in the marshlands of Dorchester County, Maryland. Photograph by Claire Mudd.

Three pictures of Stelis nasuta from the Grecian Islands, collected by Jelle Devalez who has the honor of studying and interpreting for us all the bee faunaof these islands. How nice for us all. The species lays its eggs in the nest of the Osmia species that we have illustrated previously. Just doing its job, nothing personal.

Three pictures of Stelis nasuta from the Grecian Islands, collected by Jelle Devalez who has the honor of studying and interpreting for us all the bee faunaof these islands. How nice for us all. The species lays its eggs in the nest of the Osmia species that we have illustrated previously. Just doing its job, nothing personal.

Pseudopanurgus rugosus, collected by the glorious State of Virginia Natural Heritage group. This whole group is a bit of a nightmare. Uncommon, tiny, often very similar looking and widely ignored by taxonomists. I often have to leave them as sp....or as we say 'spuh'.

Pseudoplusia includens, Bowie, Maryland

Putting up the last 2 in the sieres of this species.Pterocheilus quinquefasciatus. - Hunter of caterpillars...in this case, hunter of caterpillars in South Dakota Badlands.