Images

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Unknown Scale insect on Amaryllis in my laboratory in Beltsville Maryland

Eucanthus lazarus, Scarab beetle, Chino Farm, Queen Anne County, Maryland, Collector Dan Small - Determination kindly provided by Frank Guarnieri

Piranga olivacea - Sadly this particular bird collided with a building in downtown Washington D.C. and the Lights Out DC / City Wildlife found it on an early spring morning. Despite the obvious damage, it is still a wonderful looking bird. Photograph by Sue Boo.

This ubiquitous North American species can be found gathering mud for its nest almost anywhere. I have collected it in urban areas to remote villages in the center of Guyana. This specimen is from Key Biscayne National Park in Florida and was arrayed without a pin by Brooke in our lab and then photgraphed on a piece of glass by Ben

A wasp species. Note the lovely folds and ridges in the wing, a feature of the wasp family Scoliidae.

Scoliid Wasp, Hawaii

The Striped Bark Scorpion. A lovely specimen found on the floor of FT Eyre in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. It is always good to have friends who send you such lovely presents in the mail. This is the only scorpion in the state and over the next few days I will post more shots of this baby. Check out the hypodermic at the end of the sting.

Another small mint ...here we have Scutellaria elliptica. Look close. What is going on here? Why all this architecture? lips, hoods, long corollas...why purple with white patches and spots...could it have to do with bees? so many questions. Specimen and photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

I THINK this is a sedge, but sadly I just grabbed it quickly while at Finzel Swamp (western Maryland) where it was blooming in clumps around the edge of the large pond located there. Any corrections to my Sedge ID would be very welcome

Ovenbird, collected with permits by Lights Out DC group in fall or spring of 2012 after colliding with buildings at night in Washington D.C.

Ovenbird , collected with permits by Lights Out DC group in spring or fall migration of 2012 after colliding with buildings at night in Washington D.C.

Seeds and various parts of Senna hebecarpa, American Senna. The details of plants blooms and other body parts have their own beauty. Pictures and specimens by Helen Lowe Metzman, Howard County, MD.

Forgot to add this one with the other shots of the specimen.

Red Butts. Red abdomens are not super common in the bee world BUT (so to speak) many of those with red abdomens are parasitic members of Sphecodes (fattigi in this picture) or Nomada in North America. On other continents, its other groups. This come from Fort A.P Hill, collected by Ellison Orcutt and company from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

More Sphecodes shots....this one again from our expedition to the Adirondack Mountains. A big species (for a Sphecodes) about 2/3rds the size of a honey bee. Picture by Brooke Alexander.

More Sphecodes shots....this one again from our expedition to the Adirondack Mountains. A big species (for a Sphecodes) about 2/3rds the size of a honey bee. Picture by Brooke Alexander.

An odd story of invasion. This is a Sphecodes, we have posted a series of them recently on Flickr. They are nest parasites. They gather no pollen themselves. There are many species...the odd thing is that I found this on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. The only native bees on the island (discounting some maybe native bees) are masked bee from the genus Hylaeus.

A species of Sphecodes tainoi captured in agriculture areas of Puerto Rico by Sara Prado. This is a new island recordfor the island.Notice the lovely WIPs (Wing Interference Patterns)

Lindera benzoin - The blossom of the spicebush shrub, common in the bottomlands in the region. Scratching the stem releases wonderful all spice similar smells. 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.

Two VERY SMALL spiders. Sadly I know little about spiders so can't tell you the species / group other a number that it is not. This Spider was only about 4mm. Captured outside of my lab in Beltsville, MD. Once I started looking I realized...there are billions of such spiders (tiny ones that is) in an average field.