Images

Yucca filamentosa. A wild eastern Yucca. I always thought the odd Yucca in some beatup corner of the East was an escapee. But this is not the case as you can see here. Pollinated by moths, not bees. Specimen and picture by Helen Lowe Metzman.

A rather pollen riddled specimen, this uncommon (at least in Maryland) species is uniquely outfit with a long-strap like labral process...for those of you who are technically inclined.

Andrena barbilabris "“ A male captured in Howard County, Picture taken by Brooke Alexander

Andrena barbilabris "“ A male captured in Howard County, Picture taken by Brooke Alexander

Andrena barbilabris "“ A male captured in Howard County, Picture taken by Brooke Alexander

For some reason I really like the lighting on the face of this specimen... eerie, the bee contemplating the decline of its own kind, that sort of thing. But I depart...Here is Andrena bradleyi, the Long-faced Mining Bee, a vaccinium (blueberry) specialist. If you hang out around blueberries then you might find this bee...the flowering plants that is.

As its name implies, Andrena caerulae, is a bee with a deep blue shimmer to its skin. Unlike the plain black models of most of the other 500+ species of Andrena this species stands out, making identification a bit easier.

Of the woodland oriented bees this is regionally the most common one, Andrena carlni, this male is relatively easy tp tell because of the black hairs that line the edges of the eyes and the ocelli that are set back from the back of the head. Photography by Amanda Robinson.

This is a northern / arctic species that occurs worldwide. Recent discoveries have shown its distribution extends to high elevations in West Virginia (thank you Jane).This specimen is from Maine (thank you Alison).

Andrena confederata - A male of this uncommon species found in Calvert County and photographed by Dejen Mengis.

Maine, Collected by Sara Bushman

A specialist on early spring blooming brassicas. This one was collected just a few days ago along a very urbanized and disturbed section of Indian Creek in Beltsville, Maryland. Other than an overstory of trees all the herbaceous material growing seem to be invasive plants.

A couple of shots of Andrena asteris. Turns out the species is, indeed, an aster specialist. Not particularly common, unless you spend a lot of time looking at asters. If you spend a lot of time looking at willows then good luck finding this species Kiddo. Photo by Wayne Boo.

One of the relatively few fall Andrena species, this one from West Virginia. As the name implies, it is a lover of asters, and probably only uses Aster pollen to feed its young. Photograph by Brooke Alexander.

Andrena asteroides "“ A male undoubtedly caught on one of the Frost Asters in Prince George's County, Maryland. Photographed by Wayne Boo

Regionally common to sometimes even abundant, this is one of the larger Andrena of the spring. It can occur in almost any habitat, gathering pollen from a wide variety of the hugely abundant pollen and nectar sources that occur in Woodlands and surrounding scrub lands.

Andrena barbara, female

Andrena confederata - A male of this uncommon species found in Calvert County and photographed by Dejen Mengis.

Go to the woods in the Eastern United States, find a blooming Rhododendron, look for this bee, it specializes Rhodos and Azalea pollen for its babies. Collected in Giles County (probably on a Rhododendron) by Barbara Abraham's students at Mountain Lake Biological Station.

Male Andrena cressonii from Dorchester County, Maryland

In the spring, this species (Andrena cressonii) can show up almost anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic and throughout much of the country. Common, but rarely abundant. The vibe on this male is: wide head, yellow on the clypeus and yellow in the parocular area (this is area between the central clypeus and compound eyes).