Images

We are finally getting around to some of the common bees of the region. This one is Andrena miserabilis. Why miserabilis for a name? Not sure, it is not a particularly miserable bee, it comes out early in the spring and can be found in almost any environment from backyard to Woodlands.

Andrena ceanothi, female

Andrena crataegi, female

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Andrena lupinorum, Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Pennington County

Andrena mariae, female

Andrena merriami, female Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Andrena merriami, South Dakota, Badlands National Park

A couple of so so pictures of Andrena milwaukeensis. Check out the tiny dark hairs in the facial fovea.. Photo by Dejen Mengis

A bee (Andrena morrisonella) that may or may not be the same species as A. imitatrix.

Ugly Bee...For sure, but an interesting one. Brooke Goggins took this one on a grayish background to highlight the wings of this Andrena nasonii. This specimen was collected by Gabriel Karns as part of a study of rights of way in eastern Ohio. We noticed that it has some funny vein business going on.

Andrena nasonii. In this case a male, one of the least distinguishable species there is, but fortunately very common and so there are small and differences between the species and others that together allows us to recognize it when plowing through thousands of them. Picture taken by Sierra Williams.

An abundant Andrena, often found in lawns and disturbed field like situations. The males are as generic as they come but have a tiny point coming out of their integument on either side of the underside of their thorax. Thank goodness. Photographer ...

Sunflowers. Specifically, the genus Helianthus to separate out the other "sunflower" plants. Only found in North America. So tall and glorious that we have adopted many for our gardens. Thrusting skyward they telegraph their supply of pollen and nectar to the bees that only feed their young pollen of Sunflower. Here is one of them. The appropriately named A.

Pennington County, South Dakota, Badlands National Park

Andrena illini, A rather large, spring bee, I associate this one with Woodlands and the edge of Woodlands, where found them feeding on blackberries in particular. This one was collected in Somerset County by Timothy McMahon. Photograph by Hannah Sutton.

Andrena Illini. Named after the University of Illinois football team by Wally LaBerge. While he was one of the great taxonomy experts that we recently lost. He was a specialist in Andrena and Melissodes and dabbled in several other genera of bees.

Andrena illini, female

Andrena illinoiensis, South Dakota, Badlands National Park,

Andrena illinoiensis, South Dakota, Badlands National Park,

One of the few species in the genus Anthophora with a strong pollen preference. Its almost solely found on Boraginaceae, especially Alkanna and Anchusa.