Images

Bombus variabilis, male, St. Mary's County, Maryland, Nest parasite, now extremely rare

Brachyhesma species, Australian Minute Bee, specimen collected in AustraliaLong: Until recently those who worked on the taxonomy of bees, or taxonomy in general for that matter, were men. Culturally that imbalance is now shifting, though we clearly still have a ways to go.

Brown Lacewing, Symperhobius species? Note the very lovely carved brass mesh eye, Beltsville, Maryland

Look closely at the stinkbugs in your house...there is a great deal of beauty there. Halyomorpha halys

Look closely at the stinkbugs in your house...there is a great deal of beauty there. Halyomorpha halys

Look closely at the stinkbugs in your house...there is a great deal of beauty there. Halyomorpha halys

Beetles from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is the start of a series of pictures of insects that come to the flowers in Kruger. This is a project led by James Harrison from S.A. and Jonathan Mawdsley from the U.S. I was lucky enough to come along and do some bee collecting. Interesting system.

A very small soldier beetle. This beetle is from the genus Malthodes and was collected by Brent Steury near Little Hunting Creek on the George Washington Memorial Parkway lands, operated by the National Park Service. While the species is still unknown, it does represent a new state record for Virginia and is in the process of being published.

A relatively common bee of Southern Chile. Seen regularly on Laurence Packer's expedition there in 2017. A lovely male. Photograph by Erick Hernandez.

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

As the name implies this species from East of the Andes superficially resembles the parasitic bee genus Nomada. However for whatever reason they have chosen from the wardrobe of bee colors the same cloths they act quite differently. Of note is that both the males and females of this species gather oil in addition to the usual pollen and nectar.

One of the most common bees in Eastern North America, particularly in urban and disturbed environments. They are attracted to piles of dirt or open scraped soils and appear to be a huge fan of clovers, plants that also favor lawns and open disturbed sites.

Now this is a rare bee, I have never seen or collected this species before seeing this lovely male in Kassie Urban-Mead's collection of bees from Connecticut, she collected it last year in a field on Verbena, there are only a scattering of records from NJ to Connecticut representing a disjunct population from the populations occurring in the western prairies, perhap

Calliopsis. Another of the many kinds of small bees that run the world. This is one was collected in Arizona by Tim McMahon or Don Harvey in fabulous Cochise County.

The face of insect form, layout, and ratios. Have to download and print to really see the details on this bad boy. Found near the Mall in downtown D.C.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,

Ah, the hidden beauty of flies. Have to download and print to really see the details on this bad boy. . Found near the Mall in downtown D.C.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

Ah, the hidden beauty of flies. Found near the Mall in downtown D.C.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,

A yellow faced Calliopsis trifasciata from southern Chile. Garnered on an expedition with Laurence Packer this past year.

A yellow faced Calliopsis trifasciata from southern Chile. Garnered on an expedition with Laurence Packer this past year.

A yellow faced Calliopsis trifasciata from southern Chile. Garnered on an expedition with Laurence Packer this past year.

Wayyyyyy up in the Andes spitting distance from Argentina, this wee Callonychium chilense was collected on an expedition with Laurence Packer to southern Chile. One of those one way dirt roads that hugs the mountains and gives one opportunity to fall into the valley in a truly spectacular way. Memorable.