Images

A good Nomia pictures always makes them look like space aliens and they might as well be given how far far far different insects are from our particularly model of living on this earth. This space alien is from the deserts of Oman where there are most new species to find, deserts being high on the list of locations with high bee diversity.

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

South Dakota, Badlands National Park

South Dakota, Badlands National Park

South Dakota, Badlands National Park

A small thin bee from Israel. This species is one of but 2 species in this rare genus. The other species occurs all the way down in Namibia. Another specimen from the Packer Lab.

Bones and eggs don't photograph well with our standard photography set up. The light is too uniform and omnidirectional. Specimens simply wash out and the lovely shapes are difficult to see or, at least, appreciated. Enter the snott. A snoot is just a cone set over a flash that makes the light uniderectionalish.

Ophiogomphus susbehcha, cast skin, collected by Richard Orr along the Potomac River

Another orchid bee in the genus Euglossa from Guyana. At present no species name, but perhaps some day I will have time to work with David Roubik on the many species we collected on a Smithsonian expedition into the interior jungles. This is a male, collected using some of the orchid floral scents to attract them that they use in courtship rituals.

How unusual. An Osmia with a red abdomen. Very rare. Also as a cool aside. This one also nests in snail shells. Collected by Jelle Devalez on the Aegean islands of Greece. Pictures taken by Maggie Yuan. Shopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

Osmia atriventris "“ A female captured in Washington County. This common spring species occurs throughout the East. Photographed by Brooke Alexander

Here is a series of male and female western glinting Osmia. There is a whole clade of Osmia that have thrust aside the drab dark colors of their Osmini kin for fresh look of maximum iridescence. That iridescence trends across greens and blues and purples with males often more on the green side.

Osmia conjuncta "“ A female captured in Carroll County, Maryland by Tim McMahon and photographed by Brooke Alexander.

Pachyprosopis cornuta, Horned Naked Bee, collected in Australia by Laurence PackerHere we have a representative of a subfamily of bees found only in Australia and nearby islands, although at least one has been introduced to a different continent (Africa) where it persisted long enough for bee collectors to find some.

From the northern hemisphere comes ... Panurginus. A common group of largely dark little bees, with the males, at times having yellow on their faces, in keeping with the general pattern of males having more yellow than females.

Another small mint ...here we have Scutellaria elliptica. Look close. What is going on here? Why all this architecture? lips, hoods, long corollas...why purple with white patches and spots...could it have to do with bees? so many questions. Specimen and photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Blue or Mad Dog Skullcap - A common little perennial native mint. For some reason it only puts out flowers on one side of the stem. Having skullcaps is a sign that you are doing things right. Collected by Helen Lowe Metzman in Howard County Maryland.

I THINK this is a sedge, but sadly I just grabbed it quickly while at Finzel Swamp (western Maryland) where it was blooming in clumps around the edge of the large pond located there. Any corrections to my Sedge ID would be very welcome

Seeds and various parts of Senna hebecarpa, American Senna. The details of plants blooms and other body parts have their own beauty. Pictures and specimens by Helen Lowe Metzman, Howard County, MD.

American Wild Senna. A lovely, and slightly exotic wildflower found in Maryland, Howard County by Helen Lowe Metzman. I don't often see bees on this plant and from the structure of the plant it would seem to be oriented to pollination by bumble bees.

Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park - Thanks to Chris Thompson for the determination!