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Eastern Ecological Science Center images.
Another mid-summer Colletes from the central prairies. Note the "cute" face with the inner edges of the eyes converging towards the mouth. For some reason this automatically makes a bee cute compared to the standard bee face format that most species display.
Another mid-summer Colletes from the central prairies. Note the "cute" face with the inner edges of the eyes converging towards the mouth. For some reason this automatically makes a bee cute compared to the standard bee face format that most species display.
A cute male bee.... this is the visual of almost all bees in the genus Colletes. Look at how the inner edges of the eyes come closer towards the mouth. For whatever reason, this cutifies pretty much any bee. Enough of that mushy bee stuff. This is a western prairie bee, one that I found at the eastern edge of its range in Hooker, NE.
A cute male bee.... this is the visual of almost all bees in the genus Colletes. Look at how the inner edges of the eyes come closer towards the mouth. For whatever reason, this cutifies pretty much any bee. Enough of that mushy bee stuff. This is a western prairie bee, one that I found at the eastern edge of its range in Hooker, NE.
A blueberry specialist. Look how long that face is...The space between the mandible and the eye is what bee heads often use to separate species. This Colletes validus has a huggggggeeee malar space...other Colletes species essentially have none, the mandible being directly at the base of the eye. Why?
A blueberry specialist. Look how long that face is...The space between the mandible and the eye is what bee heads often use to separate species. This Colletes validus has a huggggggeeee malar space...other Colletes species essentially have none, the mandible being directly at the base of the eye. Why?
Look at the veryyyyyyy long distance from the bottom of the compound eye to the mandible base (technically this is called the malar space). Few bees show this long a head and it is nearly distinctive within Colletes at least in the north. This is a species that likes to hang out around blueberries and other Vaccinium type things.
Look at the veryyyyyyy long distance from the bottom of the compound eye to the mandible base (technically this is called the malar space). Few bees show this long a head and it is nearly distinctive within Colletes at least in the north. This is a species that likes to hang out around blueberries and other Vaccinium type things.
Bedraggled Bee. We picture here Colletes willistoni, with mussy hair, something Colletes is prone to. For me this is mostly irritating, in that they don't clean up well for their pictures, for the bees, well, its hard to say, they are an old lineage and apparently great looking hair under all conditions was not their evolutionary priority.
Bedraggled Bee. We picture here Colletes willistoni, with mussy hair, something Colletes is prone to. For me this is mostly irritating, in that they don't clean up well for their pictures, for the bees, well, its hard to say, they are an old lineage and apparently great looking hair under all conditions was not their evolutionary priority.
Badlands National Park
South Carolina
Collinsonia canadensis. Stoneroot / Richweed. Photo and specimen from Helen Lowe Metzman. 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.
Collinsonia canadensis. Stoneroot / Richweed. Photo and specimen from Helen Lowe Metzman. 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.
Tiny tiny bee of the deserts. Conanthalictus conanthi....a specialist of plants in the waterleaf family. I don't know much about the group, but they are restricted to the deserts of the Southwest U.S. and northern Mexico. Note how low on the face the antennae are. Collected by Don Harvey or Tim McMahon on one of their treks to Cochise County, Arizona.
Tiny tiny bee of the deserts. Conanthalictus conanthi....a specialist of plants in the waterleaf family. I don't know much about the group, but they are restricted to the deserts of the Southwest U.S. and northern Mexico. Note how low on the face the antennae are. Collected by Don Harvey or Tim McMahon on one of their treks to Cochise County, Arizona.
Conchylodes species (Thanks to Mike Burchett for the determination) with what is likely a crane fly orchid pollinia glued to its eye...see associated closeup for a more detailed look. Upper Marlboro, Maryland July 23 2013
Conchylodes species (Thanks to Mike Burchett for the determination) with what is likely a crane fly orchid pollinia glued to its eye...see associated closeup for a more detailed look. Upper Marlboro, Maryland July 23 2013
Ah......Mistflower. Conoclinium coelestinum. So purple blue that it almost looks fake (to me) regularly occuring in our area and a lovely addition to those how need a little more purple in their gardens. Specimen and pictures by Helen Lowe Metzman.
Ah......Mistflower. Conoclinium coelestinum. So purple blue that it almost looks fake (to me) regularly occuring in our area and a lovely addition to those how need a little more purple in their gardens. Specimen and pictures by Helen Lowe Metzman.
Oh look, here is the female Diadasia rinconis. We featured the relatively fuzzy male recently and you can see that the branched pollen collecting hairs on this specimen have a few stray cactus pollen balls stuck in there. Such lovely bees really. Collected by Don Harvey. Someone in the lab took the picture BUT FORGOT TO FILL OUT THE SPREADSHEET, for the shots.
Oh look, here is the female Diadasia rinconis. We featured the relatively fuzzy male recently and you can see that the branched pollen collecting hairs on this specimen have a few stray cactus pollen balls stuck in there. Such lovely bees really. Collected by Don Harvey. Someone in the lab took the picture BUT FORGOT TO FILL OUT THE SPREADSHEET, for the shots.
Collected in Chile in Patagonia near Chile Chico,on an expedition with Laurence Packer. This is a Diadasia of some sort. Laurence, surely will figure out all the species names so we can update these pictures.
Collected in Chile in Patagonia near Chile Chico,on an expedition with Laurence Packer. This is a Diadasia of some sort. Laurence, surely will figure out all the species names so we can update these pictures.
South Dakota, Badlands national Park
Isn't this a boss looking bee? This is Dianthidium singulare. One of the largest Dianthidiums around. Check out the winged plates near the collar of the bee and the shield like tegula that covers the front wing's insertion point into the body. Such a dramatic species.
Isn't this a boss looking bee? This is Dianthidium singulare. One of the largest Dianthidiums around. Check out the winged plates near the collar of the bee and the shield like tegula that covers the front wing's insertion point into the body. Such a dramatic species.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
South Dakota, Badlands national Park
Dieunomia heteropoda, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, from a nesting aggregation in a sand pit, the only one in the state I am aware of.
Dieunomia heteropoda, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, from a nesting aggregation in a sand pit, the only one in the state I am aware of.
Coelioxys vigilans, Female, Dominican Republic, March 2012
Coelioxys vigilans, Female, Dominican Republic, March 2012
Coelioxys sayi, female, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Odenton, Maryland
Coelioxys sayi, female, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Odenton, Maryland
Gynandromorph, bilaterally half male/ half female, very rare, the left hand side of this he-she is male (13 antennal segments / lacking pollen carrying hairs on the legs) and the right it female with 12 antennal segments and pollen carrying scopa on the hind legs. The differences are most obvious on the face shot and the underside shot.
Gynandromorph, bilaterally half male/ half female, very rare, the left hand side of this he-she is male (13 antennal segments / lacking pollen carrying hairs on the legs) and the right it female with 12 antennal segments and pollen carrying scopa on the hind legs. The differences are most obvious on the face shot and the underside shot.