Images

First Maryland record for this species. A possible nest parasite of Andrena wilkella. Picked up at Andelot Farm in Kent County Maryland.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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

First Maryland record for this species. A possible nest parasite of Andrena wilkella. Picked up at Andelot Farm in Kent County Maryland.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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

The genus Nomada includes many species with murky taxonomies. The group of species with an extra tooth off the tip (we call them the bidentate group) are particularly tricky with molecular working showing it to be a swarm of many "species". So it goes in insect land.

A moderate sized Nomada, a bee that lays its eggs in the nests of bees in the genus Andrena. This species, at least in the male, has a distinctive antennae. You can see it in at least the picture taken of the bee's side that the underside of the antenna is partially eroded away leaving a hollow on each segment.

Rare Bee Alert. Here is Nomada erigeronis. Handful of records...more Midwest...but here is one from the East. New Jersey, in fact. Relatively big. Similar species nest parasitize Agapostemon, but what's up here. Seems to be active in the May-July area.

Mimi Jenkins collected this lovely nest parasite in the sandy watermelon fields outside of Charleston, South Carolina. This bee presumably is adding its egg to the nest of Agapostemon splendens a denizen of sandy areas around the eastern part of the continent. It is a male as you can tell from the amount of yellow on the face and the 13 antennal segments.

A nest parasite, perhaps of Agapostemon splendens, this uncommon sand specialist is a good indicator of habitat worth retaining. Collected along the Atlantic Coast at: Fort Matanzas National Monument.

Now here is a beauty. Nomada graenicheri, rare as all get out and its host is unknown (but could be one of the summer Andrena...). This one was collected in the mountains of Virginia by Megan Ayers as part of her team's efforts to survey the bees of that state. For some reason the facial shot presents notes of anime...at least to me. Photo by Erick Hernandez.

Dominican Republic

Queen Anne County, Maryland, A lovely Tiphiid Wasp from Chino Farm

Neoclytus acuminatus - Red-headed Ash Borer, one of the many beautiful wood boring beetles in the Cerambycid group. Collected in Prince George's County, Maryland and photographed by Brooke Alexander.

Tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny. You can tell this from the size of the pin. What is size anyway. Clearly this is larger than a virus, let's say, but smaller than an elephant or bread box. But in the perspective of bees, this is really really small...because it is a nest parasite of Perdita which are the smallest of all the bees in North America.

St. Francis's Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli francisci). Only found in North Carolina and only found on Ft. Bragg. Feeds on grasses and sedges in wetlands along streams, most of those wetlands created by beaver and periodic fires from Base activities. These specimens came from captive reared populations that USFWS and others are attempting to slowly create.

Nomada maculata, Acadia National Park

This Nomada is a nest parasites of spring Eucera species. It is one of the few groups of Nomada that have decided to parasitize something other than the genus Andrena. This one was found in the southeastern corner of Ohio by MaLisa Spring. photography by Brooke Alexander.

One of the western Nomada bee species, that just barely makes into the East. Unusual in how white some of the markings are on the abdomen. This nest parasite was collected by Elaine Evans in North Dakota.

Nomada articulata - A nest parasite of bright green Agapostemons. Most Nomada are nest parasites of Andrena. Not this species. The male is noted for its antenna mods. There is an odd sharp spine underneath the 3rd elongated flagellar segment. Why? Several other Nomada kin have the same thing, so it must be useful.

Nomada articulata - A nest parasite of bright green Agapostemons. Most Nomada are nest parasites of Andrena. Not this species. The male is noted for its antenna mods. There is an odd sharp spine underneath the 3rd elongated flagellar segment. Why? Several other Nomada kin have the same thing, so it must be useful.

A nest parasite of a bee. This species lays its eggs in the nests of Agapostemon bees, where it kills the host larva and then eats the stores placed there by the host female. We all know people like this. Bee was collected in New York City as part of a survey of bees of Gateway National Recreation Area. Photograph by Brooke Alexander.

A nest parasite of bees in the genus Agapostemon...perhaps this one targets Agapostemon splendens...which as the name implies is particularly splendidly arrayed in metallic blues and greens. This bee was captured as part of a survey of bees in Gateway National Recreation Area...which includes much of the harbor area of New York City.

Ironweed specialist. Well at least the female is a specialist in that she feeds here babies the bright white pollen of this group of plants. If you plant Ironweed in your garden Melissodes denticulatus will show up they are that common (ironweed is common too).