Images

Cuba, GTMO, Guantanamo Bay

Cerceris hatuey, female, Cuba

Cerceris triangulata, Female, GTMO, Cuba

Just one of many kinds of bees for which we know little to nothing. Beautiful wings though! This specimen comes from Brazil and was found in Laurence Packer's lab 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.

One of the Trichiotinus flower chafer beetles, collected on Vinton Furnace Experimental Station of the USFS, home to many uncommon native bees. Photographed by Brooke Alexander

Mystery Wasp....I think it is a Chalcid, but a couple of people have now suggested that is likely a Leucospis. This was from 2014 and was collected in Anne Arundel County and... I can't quite recall why we took this picture. Can someone id the wasp for us?Thanks Pilgrims. Picture taken by Wayne Boo.

Chamaesyce maculata, Spotted Spurge, August 2012, Beltsville, Maryland

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The very small and skinny, beetle hole nesting, Chelostoma philadelphi. A specialist on Philadelphus (mock orange). This species is most commonly seen on the non native European Mock Orange that was widely planted in the olden days.

The very small and skinny, beetle hole nesting, Chelostoma philadelphi. A specialist on Philadelphus (mock orange). This species is most commonly seen on the non native European Mock Orange that was widely planted in the olden days.

Chelostoma philadelphi, Towson, Maryland

A new species for Vermont, this invasive bee is a specialist on Campanula flowers, collected by Anna Beauchemin, Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

Interesting and very uncommon bee. Meet Coelioxys banksi. I have only seen a couple, both from NJ, I think. What bee is their host? There are specimens from the East Coast and from the West with a hiatus in the middle. Are they different species or are we simply lousy at finding them? What ever is going on , a pretty slick looking bee.

A lovely Coelioxys from Argentina...note the hair emerging from the eyeballs..one of the few groups of bee species to have this characteristic. (honey bees being the most famous hairy eyeball bees). A nest parasite of Megachile, this female is typical in shape of the abdomen, long and sharp designed to insert eggs into the walls of the other bee's nests.

Coelioxys coturnix, male, Cumberland, July 2012, Maryland

Coelioxys coturnix, male, Cumberland, July 2012, Maryland

First Maryland state record for this species as represented by this male from Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge on a wee island in the Chesapeake Bay. As a Coelioxys it is going to be a nest parasite of Megachile...in this case it is going after Megachile petulans....a species with a more southern distribution.

First Maryland state record for this species as represented by this male from Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge on a wee island in the Chesapeake Bay. As a Coelioxys it is going to be a nest parasite of Megachile...in this case it is going after Megachile petulans....a species with a more southern distribution.

Coelioxys hunteri, male, a bee that is a nest parasite of leaf cutting bees. This is just the specialized and distinctive end of this lovely bee. Jones County Georgia, obtained form the USFS Experiment Station...

I think this was the first confirmed state record (Maryland) for this species (Coelioxys immaculata). It was found in Caroline County in a sandy area. Not clear what it is a nest parasite of (almost certainly a Megachile). Something for someone to do....good amateur project. Picture by Amanda Hong.

Coelioxys....invader of Megachile nests. This female is designed to slice into Meg nests and insert and egg which later will kill the baby leaf cutter and consume the food. This one is from the Southwest, Coelioxys novomexicana. This bee was collected in the California Central Valley in Yolo County for research on small-scale restoration in agricultural areas.