Images

Galearis spectabilis, the Showy Orchis. As wild orchids go in the East, this one is relatively common. I come across it the most in deciduous Appalachian Mountain woods, but I have seen it in plenty other places where the woods have not been turned under for crops in the past.

Galearis spectabilis, the Showy Orchis. As wild orchids go in the East, this one is relatively common. I come across it the most in deciduous Appalachian Mountain woods, but I have seen it in plenty other places where the woods have not been turned under for crops in the past.

Galearis spectabilis, the Showy Orchis. As wild orchids go in the East, this one is relatively common. I come across it the most in deciduous Appalachian Mountain woods, but I have seen it in plenty other places where the woods have not been turned under for crops in the past.

Geothlypis trichas, Common Yellowthroat, Stuck the Thurgood Marshall Building, May of 2012 in Washington D.C. in migration

Bees Trained to Collect Gold DustIn the Upper Congo past gold mining's legacy left a moonscape of large and small open pits. Some of these pits date to the turn of the previous century.

Charidotella sexpunctata - One of the many variations of this electric beetle, exquisite in its color, form, and blends of neon all free of charge from your friend: Nature.Upper Marlboro, MarylandCanon 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 .p

Rattlesnake Plantain. Oh, look an orchid. An orchid that is not too uncommon in acidy woodlands. What a lovely leaf too. Picture and specimen by Helen Low Metzman.

Graphocephala versuta - A beautiful multiculored, but minute leafhopper, here captured and photographed in Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Graphocephala versuta - A beautiful multiculored, but minute leafhopper, here captured and photographed in Upper Marlboro, Maryland

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I feel like I should know what this beetle is...but I do not. It has a tortoise beetle feel. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Anne Arundel County, MD Identified as Gratiana pallidula, Eggplant Tortoise Beetle by Treegoat. Living specimens are a nice hospital green.

Another picture of greensand, this is the same sample as the last one, but one that was wetted down ... what follows is the rest of the post from the previous picture of greensand....greensand dug from my backyard, which at one point was on the ocean floor...and at a point in the future will return to that state.

A nest parasite...an invader of other bees nest's ... eggs are laid and the host's young killed and food eaten. In this case the host if Colletes latitarsis. This rather beat up specimen comes from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge....paid for with lots of donations to the mosquito population on the refuge. Photography by Ashleigh Jacobs.

Collected in South Dakota in Badlands National Park, this tiny nest parasite of Colletes is the first record for the state. Amber Reese took the pictureCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia...A pretty little nest parasite of Colletes bees

Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia...A pretty little nest parasite of Colletes bees

A small heath, the trailing arbutus. Often thought to be rare, but more often than not simply overlooked. Attracts pollinators like the rest of the grouip. Epigaea repens. Specimen and photo by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Ahhhhhh, something new under the sun. Alma Solis a USDA entomologist showed me these specimens of the smallish moth Epitamyra thermalis. After finding essentially nothing about these moths and the super cool sound structure on these male's wings I wrote Alma and she replied: "Sam, you are venturing into scientific NEW information.

Ahhhhhh, something new under the sun. Alma Solis a USDA entomologist showed me these specimens of the smallish moth Epitamyra thermalis. After finding essentially nothing about these moths and the super cool sound structure on these male's wings I wrote Alma and she replied: "Sam, you are venturing into scientific NEW information.

Eriotremex formosanus, A giant introduced horntail from Asia found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN

That Badlands...of South Dakota. One of my favorite places and filled with bees! Here is Eucera aragalli from Badlands National Park. Juking on those colors. Photography by Dejen Mengis.