Images

Ah the glow in the dark Mason bees of the West. Very jealous...we don't have this model of Osmia out east. For some reason bright green works for a whole passel of Osmia and the related Hoplitis. Funny how this blingy green/blue/purple invades certain genera of bees and is completely absent from others. What is the driver. I like to think it is bee aesthetics.

Ah the glow in the dark Mason bees of the West. Very jealous...we don't have this model of Osmia out east. For some reason bright green works for a whole passel of Osmia and the related Hoplitis. Funny how this blingy green/blue/purple invades certain genera of bees and is completely absent from others. What is the driver. I like to think it is bee aesthetics.

This beautiful blue bee nests in snail shells. I am not sure if there are other species in the East that nest in snail shells, there could be...we know so very little about most species. Collected in Maryland somewhere (probably western Maryland) and Photographed by Wayne Boo.

An alien species introduced from the island of Japan in the 1980s. This and its sister the same region are now the dominant Osmia species in the mid-Atlantic area. 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.

From the mountains of western Maryland comes Osmia distincta...lover of Penstemon flowers. Photoshopping by Thistle Droege.

Osmia georgica. A relatively regular, but not overly abundant hole nesting Osmia. While small it is notable for have what looks like growths on its mandibles, making them quite distinctive. These elevations are probably used to help carry mud to the nests while forming partitions between their cells. Photography by Ashleigh Jacobs.

Osmia grindeliae is a widespread western mason bee. It just barely squeaks into Canada and no records as of yet in Mexico. This female was found in Yosemite National Park and collected for a project done by Lauren Ponisio examining the effect of fire diversity on bees (Ponisio et al. Gloebal Change Biol. 2016). Photograph by Samia Shell.

Terrible specimen, but the only specimen on hand for Osmia subarctica. A male with distinctive upturned gonostyli on its genitalia....as we all kinow..!

A thistle hugging giant of an Osmia..., who can't but love thistles and the several bee species that depend on them. Here is a specialist that depends on pollen from our native thistle plants to provision the cells of its young. Too often our native thistles also are taken out when people spray for introduced bull and Canada Thistles.

A thistle hugging giant of an Osmia..., who can't but love thistles and the several bee species that depend on them. Here is a specialist that depends on pollen from our native thistle plants to provision the cells of its young. Too often our native thistles also are taken out when people spray for introduced bull and Canada Thistles.

Perhaps one of the most colorful Osmia, Osmia versicolor, collected by Jelle Devalez on the Aegean Islands of Greece. Yet another snail shell nester. What would these species do if there were no snail shells and no snails to make them? Photography by Maggie Yuan.

Perhaps one of the most colorful Osmia, Osmia versicolor, collected by Jelle Devalez on the Aegean Islands of Greece. Yet another snail shell nester. What would these species do if there were no snail shells and no snails to make them? Photography by Maggie Yuan.

Osmia distincta, Allegany County, Maryland, May 2012

Cuba, GTMO, Guantanamo Bay

A bee with great form. The shot of this from Africa from the back reminds me of sputnik. As in all the anthidiini it is a wonderful combination of deep pits and tastefully arrayed colors. I think such designs would look great as warrior outerwear.

Pachymelus bicolor, m, face, madagascar

Palaeorhiza species, Badass Masked Bee, specimen collected in Papua New GuineaThin, relatively hairless, dangerous looking Masked Bees are waspish in aspect since they carry their pollen and nectar internally rather than trapped in external hairs.

Tiny. One would want this in your woodland rock garden. Dwarf Ginseng, Panax trifolius. Specimen and picture by 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.

An Uncommon (or is it?) Deerberry specialist. If you don't collect bees on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) you will never see this bee (Panurginus atramontensis). It only gathers pollen and probably almost all of its nectar from this plant.

An Uncommon (or is it?) Deerberry specialist. If you don't collect bees on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) you will never see this bee (Panurginus atramontensis). It only gathers pollen and probably almost all of its nectar from this plant.

Pompilid Spider Wasp, Central Highlands High Elevation Domincan RepublicPepsis ruficornis. Someone has suggested that this one be called the Woolly Mammoth Spider Wasp