Images

Anthidiellum - Latin dimunitive of the the larger, and more robust, genus Anthidium. This little bees often go unnoticed both because they are very small and because they are very fast...zipping from flower to flower seemingly without resting.

Anthophora bomboides, male, May 2012, Allegany County, Maryland....Friends at the National Wildlife Federation have suggested this be called the Kenny Rogers Bee...for obvious reasons.

Antlion, doodlebug, whatever you want to call the larvae of these Neuropterans they are wicked weird looking at 10X. Check out the primitive "eyes" on the stalks on either side of the head and the long, mean scythes of manidibles. What if this one was the size of a doberman...who would win that fight? Picture by Joe Milone.

Here you have a honey bee and two mites upon that honey bee. Both are varroa mites, one by the leg is feeding on the bee and the other is hitching a ride after leaving another bee. This drama was provided by Krisztina Christmon at the University of Maryland where she studies the life history of mites and bees. We did a little back lit shot here, more to come.

Honey bee face, Apis mellifera,Beltsville Maryland

Over the next few days I hope to put up some new Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) shots from bees collected at the many hives here at the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center maintained by bee whisperer Francisco Posada. In part we are focusing on the plumage differences, showing the variation between dark and light bodied individuals.

Queen Bee photo spread. Collected by Tim McMahon from a colony in Talbot County, while slightly gummy as Honeybees are want to be, this series shows the longer abdomen, the odd curly dark hairs on top of the head and the broad hind tibia, but lacking the hairs and pollen basket that the workers have.

Very raggedy picture of Anthophora occidentalis from the Badlands of South Dakota

Introduced species from Japan...now found throughout the Washington D.C. area...very abundant and expected to spread.

One of the common Anthophora species found in early spring in the olive groves of Greece. They're visiting many spring flowers that provide a lot of nectar and pollen, like Muscari and Asphodelus. This particular specimen was collected by Jelle Devalez who hunts bees in the Aegean islands.

A slightly disheveled Anthophora from the Carribbean collected by Sara Prado. This species is known from Hispaniola to the western part of the Lesser Antilles. Wouldn't it be interesting to figure out the ancient history of this species colonization/evolution in the island chain. Pictures taken by intern team Maggie Yuan and Sara Guerrieri.

Here is a series of males and females of Anthophora urbana from Yolo County, California. This bee was collected in the California Central Valley in Yolo County for research on small-scale restoration in agricultural areas. Claire Kremen's 10-year study of hedgerows shows the benefits of planting native shrubs and forbs in agricultural areas for native bees.

Here is a series of males and females of Anthophora urbana from Yolo County, California. This bee was collected in the California Central Valley in Yolo County for research on small-scale restoration in agricultural areas. Claire Kremen's 10-year study of hedgerows shows the benefits of planting native shrubs and forbs in agricultural areas for native bees.

Messy. This Anthophora is just not very common around the MidAtlantic and I can't quite figure out any particular patterns to where it is ...and where it is not. It is also distributionally interesting since it is found on both coasts, but not in the prairies. Very suspicious. There needs to be an investigation. Are these different species?

Here is Anthophora ursina...a male. It has populations in the West and the East but none in the middle of the continent. Which makes one wonder if there are two or one species involved. In the past at least they have been considered different Subspecies. This is not a common bee. I a have seen relatively few individuals, and those from West Virginia.

A lovely little southern pea loving bee. Its so nice to know that these little flying jewels are out there and not everything is a honey bee. Collected by Sabrie Breland in the southern pinelands of Georgia and photographed by Sara Guerrieri.

Background fun. Note that in one picture in this series we put a background of grass in our mini-insect studio in front of the black velvet curtain. What do you think ...pro? con?This is Anthidium illustre a snappy looking beast from the Rocky Mountains west.

What a lovely female Anthidium manicatum from Massachusetts. This species is a non-native species that has successfully invaded much of the Eastern parts of North America, in particular it is fond of ornamental gardens containing furry leaved plants which it uses to line its nest.

Anthidium manicatum is an invasive bee that showed up sometime in the 19 eighties in North America. It is particularly fond of garden plants such as stachys and appears to largely be restricted to areas of human occupancy. The specimens come from Massachusetts, and I wish I could recall who gave them to me, but for now I have forgotten.

A gynandromorph is a bee that exhibits characteristics of both sexes. In the other two species (Lasioglossum and Bombus) the split was bilateral..one side male and the other, female. In this Anthidium oblongatum (an introduced species) almost the entire bee is female with the apparent exception of having a seventh abdominal segment and genitalia.

A gynandromorph is a bee that exhibits characteristics of both sexes. In the other two species (Lasioglossum and Bombus) the split was bilateral..one side male and the other, female. In this Anthidium oblongatum (an introduced species) almost the entire bee is female with the apparent exception of having a seventh abdominal segment and genitalia.