Images

Here is a Melissodes from Pulaski County, Virginia collected at the Radford Munitions Plant which is kept in high quality grasslands because they are good stewards.

Here is a Melissodes from Pulaski County, Virginia collected at the Radford Munitions Plant which is kept in high quality grasslands because they are good stewards.

So many bees so little time. This is Melissodes rivalis. A male. See the long antennae? That makes it one of the long-horned bees....a clade of several bee genera, mostly summer time species, composite lovers. This is but one of about 4000 U.S. species.

Jasper County, South Carolina, right across from Savannah Georgia sits Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. A refuge of dikes around huge old rice fields that now grow ducks and other marshlings. A few bees occur here, but diversity is pretty low as this is not so much a natural, but a managed habitat.

Jasper County, South Carolina, right across from Savannah Georgia sits Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. A refuge of dikes around huge old rice fields that now grow ducks and other marshlings. A few bees occur here, but diversity is pretty low as this is not so much a natural, but a managed habitat.

A bit of a mysterious species. Almost all of the records are ancient with almost no recent records. Here is a recent one though. This is from a study of Florida coastal dune bee communites by Anthony Abbate...who should be getting his Master's degree out of this any day. This one found in Broward County.

A bit of a mysterious species. Almost all of the records are ancient with almost no recent records. Here is a recent one though. This is from a study of Florida coastal dune bee communites by Anthony Abbate...who should be getting his Master's degree out of this any day. This one found in Broward County.

A bit of a mysterious species. Almost all of the records are ancient with almost no recent records. Here is a recent one though. This is from a study of Florida coastal dune bee communites by Anthony Abbate...who should be getting his Master's degree out of this any day. This one found in Broward County.

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Long Horn. The males of all the genera within the Eucerini clan (at least all the ones I can think of) have very long antennae. These are fast flying lovers of perennials. This particular one (Melissodes trinodis) favors things in the sunflower arena, big, open, tall flowers.

Long Horn. The males of all the genera within the Eucerini clan (at least all the ones I can think of) have very long antennae. These are fast flying lovers of perennials. This particular one (Melissodes trinodis) favors things in the sunflower arena, big, open, tall flowers.

One of the most common long-horned bees in the Mid-Atlantic. Often confused with M. agilis and it is not at all clear how to tell the males apart. Oh, this is Melissodes trinodis. A lover of composites. Photo by Erick Hernandez.

A hind foot of a Melissodes trinodis, but....what is on the end of that foot? I will tell you, Pilgrim, those are pollinia from Common Milkweed. Here are 3 paired sets, having glued themselves to the bee when it accidentally stuck its foot in one the 5-compartmented florets that comprise a milkweed flower.

Cranberry lover from Georgia. This is a classic example of a bee whose range is restricted by the pollen it needs to feed its young.

Melitta haemorrhoidalis, Red-butted Campanula Lover, specimen collected by R.C.L. Perkins in Wotton-under-Edge, EnglandMelitta is the Greek word for bee, and the name of the favorite activity indulged in by the authors "“ melittology "“ is based upon this. Melitta bees are specialists.

There are 6 families of bees in North America. The bee here Melitta melittoides is member of Melittidae. Melittidae has only 2 genera of bees in the East. Most of them are highly specialized. Our friend here is a Lyonia (maleberry) specialist. In the face shot of the female...check out the size of those mandibles.

Maryland

Looks just like a "bee" does it not? Not super sexy, pretty plain really. But so very interesting. This is Melitta melittoides. A very uncommon bee. Uncommon because it only feeds its babies the pollen from Lyonia (Fetterbush, Staggerbush if you will).

An all African. This small species was captured in South Africa by Laurence Packer's lab. Often this species has multiple males and females using the same nest, though apparently not dividing up the labor, but simply finding some advantage of living together rather than nesting in the ground separately.

Hey now here is a common bee from Kruger National Park, Meliturgula scriptifrons. A smallish brown bee that are commonly caught in bowl traps. Part of the small number of genera in Andrenidae. Photo by Kelly Graninger.