Images

While the host is away the Epeolus will play. This is E. autumnalis, collected by Jessica Rykken in Massachusetts. It does not gather pollen. Rather, the female sneaketh into the nest of a Colletes while it is out gathering more food and inserts its egg into the wall of the nest.

A nest parasite of Colletes bees, this sharp looking, heavily armored Epeolus bifasciatus was found in Badlands National Park in South Dakota

This very very rare bee invades the nests of bees in the genus Colletes. Captured by Heather Campbell in the Sandhills of North Carolina and photographed by Amber JoyceCanon 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

Rare, Rare, Rare. This Epeolus howardi, a nest parasite of one of the Cellophane Bees in the genus Colletes. Which species of Colletes, you ask, as is more often the case than not ... we don't know. This bee has only been collected a handful of times in the Mid-Atlantic states and that is about all we know.

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.

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...

Evaniid wasp, Maryland, Ensign Wasp 2012, possibly Hyptia harpyoides with help from Andy Deans, Anne Arundel County

Big, Big, Big, In all its black-winged metallic glory...this species is larger than any bee north of Mexico, we trekked 2 days into the jungles of Guyana to find it. This species, and the genus as a whole, is a nest parasite on other equally large canopy dwelling Orchid Bees.

Big, Big, Big, In all its black-winged metallic glory...this species is larger than any bee north of Mexico, we trekked 2 days into the jungles of Guyana to find it. This species, and the genus as a whole, is a nest parasite on other equally large canopy dwelling Orchid Bees.

A large, parasitic orchid bee (Exaerte smaragdina). This bumble bee sized shimmering saucepan of blue and melted green was collected by Tim McMahon a few days ago in the Bagaces region of Costa Rica, where he used chemical lures similar to the orchid oils that these bees gather from .... orchids in the canopy.

A large, parasitic orchid bee (Exaerte smaragdina). This bumble bee sized shimmering saucepan of blue and melted green was collected by Tim McMahon a few days ago in the Bagaces region of Costa Rica, where he used chemical lures similar to the orchid oils that these bees gather from .... orchids in the canopy.

Dominican Republic

Cuba, GTMO, Guantanamo Bay

Cicindela scutellaris - the Festive Tiger Beetle, found on top of a butte in Badlands National Park that had ancient windblown sand at its crest, very different from the rest of the gumbo soils of the park. Here this sand specialist can build its long burrows. Experimenting with using Black Velvet as a background ...

Back to the Badlands of South Dakota. Here we get Diadasia....something that only shows up once you hit some of the isolated prairies in the MidWest until when you got to much of the West...they are everywhere. A common species, this one was found in a number of locations in the Badlands.

Small Fuzzy Diadaasia diminuta. This little fur ball, is a globe mallow specialist. I am too tired after trying to beat back invasives all day in the yard to say any more. A lovely day though all the bees finally are emerging, including my first queen bumbles. The little poofs are from Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

I think many people think of cacti as icons, something made for us to look at, but since we rarely use cacti for anything and because their fleshy shapes and lifestyles are so different we think of them more as lampposts than integrated into our landscapes as much as the grasses, forbs, and trees. But without cacti entire worlds would disappear.

Dianthidium curvatum, how cool is this bee? Specimens collected here from Sabrie Breland in Baker County in Georgia, we should all live in such a bee rich location. 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.

An uncommon dark Dianthidium from Florida. This one captured on the Atlantic coast in Canaveral National Seashore, Photographed by Brooke AlexanderCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

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.

A beautiful spring Eucera from Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Eucera are almost always buff bees. Photograph by Dejen Mengis. 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.