Images

Melitoma taurea....a bindweed/morning glory specialist. This species seems to find the invasive non-native bindweeds perfectly acceptable and thus you can find it nesting right in the middle of cities as well in natural areas. Notable for the length of its tongue which, even when folded up extends to the abdomen.

A cranberry specialist. This bee is one of the few bees that specializes on bogs and bog plants and is found in scattered locations from Southern New England along the coastal plane to the Gulf Coast. This specimen was collected by Heather Campbell in the sandhills of North Carolina. Photograph by Brooke Alexander.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Another widespread mason bee from the West...this one was found in Yellowstone National Park as part of a study of alpine bee populations there. Osmia albolateralis is its name...sadly, like most bees it lacks a common name. Photographed by Elizabeth Garcia.

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

One of the common spring Osmia, this specimen came from bowl traps right at the lab...unlike other specimens it was processed right away and the luminescence of the eyes of this particular specimen retained at least some of the flavor of what they look like when alive.Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flas

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.

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.

Check out the midnight blue on the female. Your Prius should look so good. Female photos by Wayne Boo. 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.

carolina sandhills national wildlife refuge, South Carolina, male

carolina sandhills national wildlife refuge, South Carolina, male

A cute little Nomia bee from Oman...name still to be determined. Another Laurence Packer specimen. 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.

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.

Check out the rear pointing spines at the end of the thorax on this male Nomia from Vietnam, there has to be something interesting going on there. As with other Nomia this male has expanded hind leg segments, some nice pearl banding no the abdomen, and a little color pop from the thin trailing edges of the wings from wing interference patterns.

Size of bee makes a difference, even in terms of what bees get studied. Large bees attract even the non-biologists attention and thus Carpenter Bees and Bumblebees are well known around the world. Small bees, that don't bother or sting us can remain unstudied despite their abundance.

Unknown Parasitic Wasp, Cecil County, Maryland, Collected by Tim McMahon. Photographed by Wayne Boo.Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

The luscious greenescent caterpillar of the brown drab northern pearly eye butterfly. check out the 6 little eyes located down near the mouth/mandibles, I feel rather "Hello Kitty" when looking this one in the faceCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Photographer: Sam Droege, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200