Images

New State Record for Maryland, April 2012 Collected on Willow blooms in Dorchester County....a very rarely collected bee east of the Mississippi. I don't know any recent records

Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, non-native species, collected by Stephanie Wilson

Masked Bee from Dorchester County. An alien masked bee, Hylaeus leptocephalus to be exact. In Maryland (in this case, Cambridge, Maryland) it is almost completely restricted to the urban weedy lot and industrial tract. Railroad lines...the best. Photography by Amanda Robinson.

A male Hylaeus modestus, a masked bee found in the new gardens of Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

A lovely Hylaeus from Australia with some nice yellow pinstriping on the face and bold swaths on the scuttellum, pronotal lobe, and metanotum. From the Packer Bee Laboratory. 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.

Hylaeus ornatus is a masked bee, one that is always associated with wetlands. These wetlands can be freshwater marshy spots or they can be the backsides of salt marshes. Almost all have lovely red basal portions of the their abdomen. Some do not. We have series of these bees in a DNA lab to see if these two groups are different or the same.

A wetlands bee, usually with red on the basal segments of the abdomen but not always. The males with extensive yellow on their faces. Here from the marshes of Kent County, Maryland

Colors. You know, bees are so interesting sometimes. Here is Hylaeus pictipes. Jason Gibbs found this species up in Ontario, Canada where it did not belong since it is a bee of the Old World.

Colors. You know, bees are so interesting sometimes. Here is Hylaeus pictipes. Jason Gibbs found this species up in Ontario, Canada where it did not belong since it is a bee of the Old World.

Colors. You know, bees are so interesting sometimes. Here is Hylaeus pictipes. Jason Gibbs found this species up in Ontario, Canada where it did not belong since it is a bee of the Old World.

Colors. You know, bees are so interesting sometimes. Here is Hylaeus pictipes. Jason Gibbs found this species up in Ontario, Canada where it did not belong since it is a bee of the Old World.

Colors. You know, bees are so interesting sometimes. Here is Hylaeus pictipes. Jason Gibbs found this species up in Ontario, Canada where it did not belong since it is a bee of the Old World.

From Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland...a Hylaeus associated with coastal marshes. Hylaeus schwarzii. Near the marshes, but not usually found in them. Mysterious. Photography by Ashleigh Jacobs.

Potentially new species of Hylaeus from Puerto Rico...certainly new to the island. Collected by Sara Prado. Pictures by Brooke Alexander. 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.

Potentially new species of Hylaeus from Puerto Rico...certainly new to the island. Collected by Sara Prado. Pictures by Brooke Alexander. 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.

A couple more shots of the mysterious female masked bee Hylaeus sparsus. These collected by Jessica Rykken in Shenandoah National Park. Rarely collected by found across hundreds of miles of North America. Makes you wonder what we are missing, my guess is we are missing a lot because no body is actually looking.

A very uncommon masked bee. This is Hylaeus sparsus, which is definitely identified by the spike-like angle on the front coxa (the closest joint to the body). Sadly you cannot see that feature in this picture. More of a spring species than many of the Hylaeus it occurs here and there and appears to be associated with wooded areas.

A couple more shots of the mysterious female masked bee Hylaeus sparsus. These collected by Jessica Rykken in Shenandoah National Park. Rarely collected by found across hundreds of miles of North America. Makes you wonder what we are missing, my guess is we are missing a lot because no body is actually looking.

An underlooked bee, so to speak. Hylaeus sparsus, a small Hylaeus that comes with a nice spine where the leg attaches to the thorax...making ID easy ...if you look for that spine, otherwise it is another small Masked Bee. This one was collected by Jessica Rykken in Shenandoah National Park.

An underlooked bee, so to speak. Hylaeus sparsus, a small Hylaeus that comes with a nice spine where the leg attaches to the thorax...making ID easy ...if you look for that spine, otherwise it is another small Masked Bee. This one was collected by Jessica Rykken in Shenandoah National Park.

A rare Masked Bee. This is Hylaues sparsus. It shows up here and there, hard to say where its niche is in the world. No one catches many of them. Can't really pin a habitat on them or a focal plant that they have their favorite pollen.