Images

Seed head of a woodland violet. Tiny, fluffy, and mysteriously hairy. Found in the swampy woods behind my house today, Upper Marlboro, Maryland...

One of the many forms that Megachile (leaf cutting bees) come in. this lovely all black species with the white crew cut comes from Chile. From the Packer Lab. A small very black bee with an extremely wide head.Note the lobe projecting from the "cheek" back towards the thorax.

Unknown species of wasp from the Dominican Republicpossibly a Crabronidae, Pemphredoninae, Psenini wasp?

Unknown wasp, collected in Cecil County, Maryland by Tim McMahon Doug Yanega identified this as nyssonine, likely to be ZanyssonCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

Perilampid Parasitic Wasp, Boonesboro, Maryland Washington County. A hyperparasite on other parasitic wasps...3mmCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

likely scelionine genus Sparasion, determined by Roger A. Burks and Doug Yanega, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida

Here is a lovely carpenter bee from the southeastern part of the U.S., a bit smaller than X. viginica and as far as I know nests in twigs rather and does no damage to timbers (not that X. virginica does much in the way of real structural damage).

The Virginia Carpenter bee. The bane of those who build with Cedar Siding, have redwood picnic tables, or who have barns made with softwoods. Other than the recently invaded Lithurgus chrysurus (we certainly will hear more about this wood eater in coming years), this is our only bee int he East that regularly makes holes in wooden structures.

Vespid wasp from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is one that we see periodically taking nips of nectar from some of the trees we study. No time to look up the species group, but likely it a social species of some kind. Large too, about the size of a bumblebee in length..,Photo by Erick Hernandez.

Setaria glauca, Yellow Foxtail, Beltsville, Maryland with dew, August 2012

Yucca filamentosa. A wild eastern Yucca. I always thought the odd Yucca in some beatup corner of the East was an escapee. But this is not the case as you can see here. Pollinated by moths, not bees. Specimen and picture by Helen Lowe Metzman.

An unknown, very small fly, note the size of the insect pin point in the picture. They head shot was taken at 10 X and the full body shot was taken at 5X. This fly was collected by Brad Seay in Davidsonville Maryland andt was associated with unknown fly was swarming on deliquescing Stropharia rugosoannulata mushrooms he collected.

The Madagascan sunset moth, yes indeed a Moth not a butterfly. Endemic to the Island of Madagascar. Large, migratory, and day flying it is another example of Nature's breaking of the rules. The colors are not created by pigments but by the structure of the scales themselves (look it up...very cool).

Varroa destructor, the leading cause of beekeeper angst. This relatively large mite parasitizes honeybees from adults to larvae. Crab-like aren't they? Specimen provided by Krisztina Christmon from the University of Maryland where she studies the life history of these tricky beings. Oh, that is the tip of an insect pin you see in the picture.

More Velvet Ant pictures...who wouldn't want more shots of this Badass Cowkiller? This one from Arkansas sent live in the mail by our correspondent FT. Its good to have such friends. Photos by Wayne Boo.

Anticarsia gemmatalis - Velvetbean Caterpillar - Soybean eater....this species can't overwinter in most of North America but moves north to populate bean and legume fields in large enough numbers to become a major pest, but like our other pesty moths...pretty sharp looking when you get to know them personally. Specimen provided by Benzon Research.

Culvers Root, Veronicastrum virginicum. Whenever this is in bloom it has bees on it. Specimen and Picture by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Culvers Root, Veronicastrum virginicum. Whenever this is in bloom it has bees on it. Specimen and Picture by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Yo, Triepeolus people you are darn sharp looking bees. Here is T. donatus. Collected near State College in Pennsylvania by Laura Russo. Its host is going to be a Melissodes, in this case M.

Oh look, another Triepeolus. In this case it is T. helianthi from West Virginia from Kanawha County. Most likely this was collected by the fabulous Jane Whitaker, who covered most of the state in her collecting adventures. A fabulous contribution in an unexplored beescape. Photo by Sara Guerrieri.

Oh look, another Triepeolus. In this case it is T. helianthi from West Virginia from Kanawha County. Most likely this was collected by the fabulous Jane Whitaker, who covered most of the state in her collecting adventures. A fabulous contribution in an unexplored beescape. Photo by Sara Guerrieri.