Images

Stelis louisae, Prince George's county Maryland

Some of the Stelis groups of bees are very colorful. This is true of S. louisae....a nest parasite of Megachile campanulae and clan. This male was collected on Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in the mostly marsh county of Dorchester. Photograph by Claire Mudd.

The mysterious Stelis nitida. Dark, broody, enters the nests of other bees, lays its eggs, and then the hosts young mysteriously die with all their food eaten. This one from Isle Royale National Park. An island more like Canada than the U.S. in its bee fauna. Photo by Sara Guerierri.

Polistes exclamans, female, Beltsville, Maryland, Head. A social wasp queen from early spring 2013

Polistes metricus, female, Beltsville, Maryland

The Very tubular Solomon's Seal. A lovely bedding plant for your shady yard spots. Specimen and photo by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Japanese Beetle, Maryland, Beltsville, Popillia japonica, July 2012

Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. Dial it one way and you have the raw ingredients for all sorts of natural opiates, dial it another and you have poppy seeds for your bagel. Irregardless of you personal choices the seeds are indeed lovely when viewed from 10X.

A male alate or the winged reproductive form of the normally wingless ant group. The species is currently unknown, but we have it sent off to someone for identification.

This little red bee was collected on spotted beebalm. It seems to be the only species of plant, with the possibility of some close relatives being involved, that this bee finds worthy of collecting pollen from. If you Google images of spotted beebalm you'll see that it is quite the complicated and rather ornate flowering plant.

Arizona poppy pollen on Protoxaea gloriosa. Yep, the fluorescent orange Kallstroemia grandiflora, has fluorescent orange pollen and this bee loves it and becomes also fluorescent orange.

Sergiolus capulatus found by Wayne Boo in the lab....and identified by Lady Arachnophile, found in Beltsville, MD

The hind paw of the Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina brevicauda, found by Liz Sellers, dead, at Banshee Reeks in Virgina. So very delicate. Photograph taken by Liz Sellers. 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.

Blarina brevicauda - the short -tailed shrew. This one found dead in the yard in Upper Marlboro, MD. 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

Blarina brevicauda - the short -tailed shrew. This one found dead in the yard in Upper Marlboro, MD. 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

Unknown land snail from Biscayne National Park, Florida approximately 6mm across

Spodoptera eridania - Southern armyworm. A pest in southern parts of the U.S. mostly Florida. Defoliator of tomatoes and other crops. Not a candidate for the insect Miss Universe contest...or is is? I think close up there is a lot of beauty in this series of life history shots, but that is my personal opinion.

Reviled crop pest intrinsically valueless or eternal marvel of unworldly craft and resonance. 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.

Unknown Sphecidae Wasp, Anne Arundel County, Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge, Maryland, July 2012

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!).

Uniola species, found growing in annual bed, Maryland, seeds