Images

This bee is part of a taxonomic mystery spanning the continent. It turns out that the male of this species is very likely named as O. trevoris, by a long ago taxonomist., All specimens were thought to be limited to the West, but....there were these strange Osmia around the Great Lakes that were sometimes called (incorrectly it now seems) O.

Tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny. You can tell this from the size of the pin. What is size anyway. Clearly this is larger than a virus, let's say, but smaller than an elephant or bread box. But in the perspective of bees, this is really really small...because it is a nest parasite of Perdita which are the smallest of all the bees in North America.

St. Francis's Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli francisci). Only found in North Carolina and only found on Ft. Bragg. Feeds on grasses and sedges in wetlands along streams, most of those wetlands created by beaver and periodic fires from Base activities. These specimens came from captive reared populations that USFWS and others are attempting to slowly create.

St. Francis's Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli francisci). Only found in North Carolina and only found on Ft. Bragg. Feeds on grasses and sedges in wetlands along streams, most of those wetlands created by beaver and periodic fires from Base activities. These specimens came from captive reared populations that USFWS and others are attempting to slowly create.

Like islands in general, there are not many species of bees in New Zealand. John Ascher's species of the world lists only 49 and a BIG chunk of them are not native to the islands. This one is native. This is Nesocolletes fulvescens, one of 7 species in Nesocolletes all of whom are found only in New Zealand. Photo by Sydney Price.

Like islands in general, there are not many species of bees in New Zealand. John Ascher's species of the world lists only 49 and a BIG chunk of them are not native to the islands. This one is native. This is Nesocolletes fulvescens, one of 7 species in Nesocolletes all of whom are found only in New Zealand. Photo by Sydney Price.

Nomada affabilis...a very large Nomada. I think this species is almost certainly a nest parasite of bees in the genus Eucera...which is quite a different path from most of the other Nomada which are primarily, though not exclusively, nest parasites of Andrena.

Dominican Republic, thanks to Julio Genaro for the identification

Nomada rubicunda. This species is a nest parasite of bees in the genus Agapostemon....most Nomada are nest parasites of Andrena. This species is probably focused on Agapostemon splendens. Photographed by Joseph Malone and Amanda Robinson. One of only two records for Maryland, collected on fossil dunes by Jen Frye.

Second in a Series - Wasp or Bee?

Nomada texana, male, North Carolina, USFS Experiment Station

Nomia foxii. Check out the pearlescent bands on the abdomen. If you see something like that in North America it is going to be a bee in the genus Nomia. This is a western species. Captured in Hidalgo County, in NM by either Don Harvey or Tim McMahon our records are incomplete to the collector. Picture by Sydney Price.

From Kenya comes yet another Nomia with modifications to the basic bee format. You can see that like other Nomia this male has expanded leg segments, but the fabulous thing here are the dangling modified heart-shaped last segment of the antenna. Male bee antennae are modified quite frequently in the bee world, but this is one of the more extravagant.

carolina sandhills national wildlife refuge, South Carolina, male

carolina sandhills national wildlife refuge, South Carolina, male

A male Nomia from Thailand, note the corkscrewed antennae and the greatly expanded leg segments (presumably useful in mating at nest aggregations).

Badlands national Park, South Dakota

Badlands national Park, South Dakota

Another old and ancient fulgorid specimen from the Smithsonian. If you peer upclose you can see that it is a wall of tiny dust and dirt specs a sign of a collection that at one point was not so collected as it is at the Natural History museum. The hole below the eye was likely made by a friendly dermestid larvae. Still useful and still spectacular.

Frederick County Maryland, Collected by Richard Orr

Euglossa....the orchid bees, swanky glintlings of the New World tropical forests. The males gather fragrances produced by orchids who are then pollinated by the infatuations of these males.