Images

Kick butt pollinator plant. Put in your garden please. Helianthus angustifolius - Swamp sunflower. The perennial sunflowers are underappreciated, particularly compared to the way overused Susans. Specimen and photo by Helen Lowe metzman.

Glossy capped just emerged lava lampish sporangia of a Hemitrichia Red Slime mold of some sort. Note how some are conjoined and at this stage they have nifty transluscent stalks. Found during the Adirondack BioBlitz by the fungal hunting Susan Hopkins. Photo by the Dejen Mengis.

Hepatica nobilis - Roundlobe Hepatica. Delicate, an early marker of spring, understory species. Specimen collected by and picture taken by Helen Lowe Metzman.

A tiny be, this one found in the flat marshy landscape of Dorchester County, Maryland. There is a pair of the species Heriades leavitti and Heriades variolosa both appear to be essentially impossible to tell apart in the female form, but in the mail form there very clear differences underneath the abdomen.

A tiny bee, this one found in the flat marshy landscape of Dorchester County, Maryland. There is a pair of the species Heriades leavitti and Heriades variolosa both appear to be impossible to tell apart in the female form, but in the male form there are clear differences underneath the abdomen.

New state record, collected by Jelle Devalez in a sand pit in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Nearest other record is in Illinois!

Random Homopteran. Prpobably taken with out 10x modified lens. No notes, darn it.

DRONE! Apis mellifera male plundered from Dennis vanEngelsdorp's Lab. Washed and blown dried, buff. Photo by Sue Boo, interlab spy. 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.

Hoplitis anthocopoides - relatively recently introduced species into North America, this is a bee who specializes in the equally introduced plant Vipers Bugloss (Echium vulgare).

Early stages of the Cedar-Apple Rust, Kamren Jefferson, Maryland

Halictus brunnescens: probably the largest species of Halictus in the Mediterranean region of Europe, together with its sibling species Halictus quadricinctus. They are usually found on large purple thistles. In early summer you can see the females digging themselves into the flower to reach the nectar. Picture taken by Sara Guerriera.

Halictus brunnescens: probably the largest species of Halictus in the Mediterranean region of Europe, together with its sibling species Halictus quadricinctus. They are usually found on large purple thistles. In early summer you can see the females digging themselves into the flower to reach the nectar. Picture taken by Sara Guerriera.

Once of our dirtball species. Common, found almost everywhere including people's gardens and in our agricultural fields. This is group (Halictus) if often identifiable in the males by the the dark spot/section on the outer face of the hind tibia.

Bees of Bryce Canyon...yep, plenty of different kinds of bees in this National Park including this darling but drab Halictus farinosus. Photography by Brooke Alexander. 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.

Gynandromorph. Park male. Part Female. Intersex. We run into these periodically. Maybe something like once every 25,000 specimens or so. This one is Halictus ligatus and was collected by Sara Bushman from Maine as part of her studies of coastal bees. This specimen is a hodge-podge of male and femaleness.

Halictus poeyi, female, Fort Matanzas National Monument, Florida

From the Aegean Islands of Greece comes what is most likely the most common Halictus in the region. Collected by Jelle Devalez. 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.

20X Lens Tests. I am posting 3 pictures taken with a "new" 20X Mitutoyo Plan Apo Infinity Corrected Long WD Microscope Objective attached to an old 200mm Pentax lens. This allows me to start getting into some extreme stack territory. That said this lens new is over \$2000.00 U.S. However, I found a scratched one on Ebay for \$300.00.

A series of 6 pictures of 3 species of very uncommon beetles that are new records for the region from George Washington Memorial Parkway unit of the National Park Service. Collected by Brent Steury. Hallomenus scapularis is a beetle of polypore fungi. There are 2 color forms which may or may not be different species.

Goldenseal. Hydrastis canadensis. Another early spring bloomer. A long history as a native medicinal plant on the continent. Helen Low Metzman collected the specimen and took the picture.

Wow, check out the expanded basal segments of this male Hylaeus basalis. Probably as big as they get in perhaps any bee in the world. Other Hylaeus have expanded segments (sexual selection?) but not like this. This bee is form Isle Royale a very large island in Superior with all sorts of interesting bees.