Images

As we to document the many species of bees that exist in North America, And worldwide, we realize that quite a few of them look like the species, Lasioglossum abundipuntum. The reason is there are many different species of Lasioglossum and they all look about the same, with difficult characters that vary in subtle ways to torment those who have to identify them.

A couple of unprocessed French bees. This is Lasioglossum albipes. One of the most well studied non bumble non honey bees. Sarah Kocher lent these to us from her many studies, so we could picturate them. While they are your basic brown sweat bee thing, upclose there is a charm in how they are put together. At least I am charmed, that is.

A couple of unprocessed French bees. This is Lasioglossum albipes. One of the most well studied non bumble non honey bees. Sarah Kocher lent these to us from her many studies, so we could picturate them. While they are your basic brown sweat bee thing, upclose there is a charm in how they are put together. At least I am charmed, that is.

Lasioglossum albipes, Polysocial Hairy-tongued Bee, specimen collected in FranceBecause of the very well known biology of Honey Bees some may believe that all bees have complex social lives. However, very few of the more than 20,000 species of bees discovered actually has a complex social life.

Lasioglossum birkmani, Big Thicket National Preserve

A bee with a fat leg, or at least a wide one. Which is the most distinguising feature of this bee that sadly looks like a whole bunch of other Lasioglossum species. The name? = ...Lasioglossum callidum. i Photograph by Brooke Alexander.

Such a lovely blue and relatively unusual in the Genus Lasioglossum. At least in the East there is no other Lasioglossum so extensively and uniformly blue. So blue that it is often mistaken for an Osmia. This species is associated with woodlands, feeding on the vernal flora of the woods and nearby fields and nesting in rotten wood.

More L. coreiaceum pictures...these are from a specimen taken as part of global climate change study at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.Photograph by Brooke Alexander.

Lasioglossum creberrimum, Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas

Brianne Du Clos, collected this common Lasioglossum in Maine...probably in or near a blueberry field. Unlike most of our specimens you can see the pollen all over this specimen. Photograph by Dejen Mengis.

Lasioglossum nymphale, a bee of the coastal and interior sandhills of the Southeast

Virginia, Page County

A Lasioglossum with its weakened wing veins exhibiting a lovely hybrid cerulean, sky, molten blue with metallic notes offset with bright white hairs. From Redwoods National Park in California as part of a study of bees in vulnerable areas in Parks. Photograph by Brooke Alexander.

Lasioglossum pictum, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

Megachile exilis - Megs are most famous for being leaf cutters, but some are not (leaf cutters that is). M.

Megachile exilis - Megs are most famous for being leaf cutters, but some are not (leaf cutters that is). M.

One of the resin collecting bees, they are in the leaf-cutting bee genus, but separate their walls with resin rather than leaves. They love it if you drill holes in your porch posts (personal observation). This Megachile exilis males has some expanded front leg segments that help in its id...how nice. Collected in Talbot County, Maryland.

Megachile farinosa: a rather rare species and with conspicuous red legs, a feature which is very uncommon in European Megachile. This species flies in high summer and the female gathers pollen only on the flowers of Vitex agnus-castus.Some alternative or past names for the species include Chalicodoma farinosa or Pseudomegachile farinosa.

Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 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

Megachile inermis - A large female leaf cutter from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. So many species out there, it just goes on and on. Picture taken by Sierra Williams, photoshopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

A lover of yellow composites. Sunflowers and things that look like sunflowers. Megachile inimica is a big leaf cutter, quite hunky really, a bee's bee. This is a male and was collected at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.