Images

Some ratty specimens of Eucera dubitata from West Virginia. Photos by Kamren Jefferson.

They don't call them long-horned bees for nothing' ... This is the male of an obscure Eucerine, captured in a lovely residual Long-leaf managed forest with much of its original flora...and much of its original bee fauna too... collected by Sabrie Breland from Ichuaway, Georgia near the Florida Border.

A nicely arrayed longhorned bee from southern Georgia. It is rare that we get to see a bee so nicely laid out. Of the tens of thousands of these that we process each year most are hair-matted, covered in pollen or dirt, have crumpled wings, and are nowhere near this symmetrical. What a delight.Collected by Sabrie Breland in cool whispering Pines of the lowlands.

Collected by Dave Gruenewald from Emory in the southern piney forests of Georgia, where he is studying forestry regeneration impacts on native bees. This is a rare species, located only in the deep south along the coastal plain, perhaps it is not so rare as we think, but that so few people collect and study bees in this area.

Very orange and fluffy he is. And very uncommonly found. This was a nice bee to see from Sabrie Breland's captures in old long-leaf pine forests in Southern Georgia. Fulvohirta indeed. Pictures taken by Sara Guerrieri.

Collected by Dave Gruenewald from Emory in the southern piney forests of Georgia, where he is studying forestry regeneration impacts on native bees. This is a rare species, located only in the deep south along the coastal plain, perhaps it is not so rare as we think, but that so few people collect and study bees in this area.

Eucera rosae a rather uncommon spring bee in same group as the more abundant Melissodes species. This one came from the Saint Mary's City area of Southern Maryland collected by Elaine Szymkowiak.

Experiment...this specimne was placed in a humidor with household ammonia to darken the eyes...you can compare to the previous pictures...it worked to some extent, but by no means repaired the lightened areas....Eucera rosae a rather uncommon spring bee in same group as the more abundant Melissodes species.

Not all orchid bees are entirely metallic green. Here is one from a rather uncommon genus, collected, in interior Guyana rainforest that illustrates the beauty of combining black and metallics...

Hoplitis pilosifrons. Oft overlooked. This species is relatively common occurring in almost any substantive collection of bees from a region or location anywhere East of the Rockies. It has the bad habit of being bland in its characters and often leads to misidentifications.

Prince George's County, Maryland

A large Hoplitis, that occurs throughout most of North America East of the Rockies. Occurs in low numbers at most locations, in the Mid-Atlantic is is a June bee and associated with what would appear to be mostly Woody blooming plants. Something to consider in your planting pollinator plans... don't forget the blooming shrubs and small trees.

Hoplitis truncata. An uncommon Hoplitis that shows up here and there, but never in large numbers. Not well known and its roll and preferences in the world of flowers is also unclear. This is a rather ratty male I collected somewhere near home...will have to keep my eyes open for additional specimens.

Need an ID Beetle Heads...This is a lovely tortoise beetle that Ashley Bradford showed me at Pickering Creek Audubon Sanctuary BioBlitz where all the it nature heads gathered to talk about how the natural world was going to hell, except for places like Pickering Creek.

Scutigera coleoptrata, the house centipede, collected by one of the interns in her house. Photograph by Sue Boo.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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

Scutigera coleoptrata, the house centipede, collected by one of the interns in her house.

House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, dead after likely striking the DC Convention Center building

Bluets, or Quaker Ladies. Their delicate loveliness does not quite shouw up in these pictures...forming little clumps in poor soils and a part of spring I wait for each year. Specimen and photos from Helen Low Metzman.

Another set of shots of a masked bee from the Adirondack Mountains. This is a northerish bee...it extends south, but only along the Appalachians. Most of the females (as in this one) have a bit of yellow on the tip of the clypeus. Not uncommon, look for them on flat topped flowers such as Queen Anne's lace. The look is more wasp than bee however.

Yellow-shafted Flicker - Died in downtown Washington D.C. in the fall or spring of 2012 from striking a building at night. Retrieved by the Lights out DC program

An uncommon specialist on Pontedaria (Pickerelweed) in this case trapped by Matt Greenstone at the US National Arboretum and a first record for the city.