Images

An interesting bee from Florida. Collected by Anthony Abbate. Not much is know about this species, it shows up in collections not very commonly and has western counterparts which may, or may not, be the same species. So much to do!

As you can see from the tattered edges of the wings...this is an old bee, meaning it has been out and about for about 5 weeks. This is also a male, one could count the antennal segments (13 in males, 12 in females) but you can also tell by the greatly expanded white front legs, these are used to cover the females eyes during mating....

Megachile apicalis, female, Maryland, Cumberland, July 2012, Railroad Tracks, on Knapweed

Megachile armaticeps. Cuba, GTMO, Female, note the structures on the clypeus! June 2011

Megachile brevis, Female, Maryland, Kent County

Megachile brevis, female, Kent County, Maryland, June 2012

Megachile-parallela,-side

Megachile timberlakei, Hawaii, Oahu, March 2012

Megachile-townsendiana,-female,-side

What an interesting species. Instead of flying during the day, this species flies just before dawn and just after dusk, times where we have difficulty seeing. This species, however, forages on crepuscular and night fowering flowers, more often associated with bats and moths. Note the large eyes and ocelli.

Melanempis scoliiformis, Bottle Green Madagascan Cuckoo, specimen collected in MadagascarAlmost all of the bees native to the large and geographically isolated island of Madagascar are endemic (as are most of the flora and the rest of the fauna for that matter), occurring only on that Island and not on the mainland of Africa.

Here we have the light colored form of Melecta albifrons, and because of that given the subspecies name albovaria. A very variable species found widespread throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, as its host is the very common species Anthophora plumipes. Collected on Grecian Isle Lesvos by Jelle Devalez as part of a study of the bees fauna of the region.

Adult female, Harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionica, a common pest of brassicas, these were raised by the Weber USDA lab at Beltsville, Maryland

Cumberland Island National Seashore,Georgia

Velvet Ants are not ants but, rather, they are wasps and many of them are not the standard red colored velvet ant usually portrayed. Here is a small ochreish colored male (only males have wings) from California. For wasps they are quite hairy. So there. Photograph by Dejen Mengis.

The eastern subspecies of the Yellow-rumped warbler, Setophaga coronata. This bird ran into a building at night while it was migrating and was picked up by the Lights out DC group.

Tiny bee, longggggg tongue, this is the only member of its genus that has been found and is associated with the endemic desert plants in the genus Malesherbia. This species makes its nest in reexisting cracks in the dry dry soils of the region.

Foreign Extremists: Yep, these species are attacking Purple Loosestrife left and right. Imported plant being attacked by imported beetles. This is either Neogalerucella calmariensis or N. pussila, it is not clear to me how to tell them apart, but I lean towards the former, if anyone cares.

A first state record for South Carolina. This is the uncommon Melissodes manipularis. Its a male as you can tell by the very long antennae. This bee was collected as part of a survey of coastal Spring Island by Merle Shepherd and compatriots.

A first state record for South Carolina. This is the uncommon Melissodes manipularis. Its a male as you can tell by the very long antennae. This bee was collected as part of a survey of coastal Spring Island by Merle Shepherd and compatriots.

Jasper County, South Carolina, right across from Savannah Georgia sits Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. A refuge of dikes around huge old rice fields that now grow ducks and other marshlings. A few bees occur here, but diversity is pretty low as this is not so much a natural, but a managed habitat.