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USGS Bee Lab at the Eastern Ecological Science Center images.

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Colletes robertsonii, m, face, Hooker Co., Nebraska
Colletes robertsonii, m, face, Hooker Co., Nebraska
Colletes robertsonii, m, face, Hooker Co., Nebraska

A little series of pictures of Colletes robertsonii from the Sandhills of Nebraska...Hooker county. A Midwestern species, this male and female were found in a nice patch of flowers along the road in a small pull off. Lovely country...the Sandhills. Photos by Erick Hernandez.

A little series of pictures of Colletes robertsonii from the Sandhills of Nebraska...Hooker county. A Midwestern species, this male and female were found in a nice patch of flowers along the road in a small pull off. Lovely country...the Sandhills. Photos by Erick Hernandez.

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Colletes solidaginis, f, back, Suffolk, VA
Colletes solidaginis, f, back, Suffolk, VA
Colletes solidaginis, f, back, Suffolk, VA

Not a great specimen, but then again, the species is one we have seen only a few times... you get what you can take. As the name implies there MIGHT be a relationship between this species and golden rod. Is that true? Someone needs to look at little more deeply and perhaps look at the pollen on the bodies of these bees to make such declarations.

Not a great specimen, but then again, the species is one we have seen only a few times... you get what you can take. As the name implies there MIGHT be a relationship between this species and golden rod. Is that true? Someone needs to look at little more deeply and perhaps look at the pollen on the bodies of these bees to make such declarations.

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Colletes titusensis, M, Side, Brevard co., Honda, U.S
Colletes titusensis, M, Side, Brevard co., Honda, U.S
Colletes titusensis, M, Side, Brevard co., Honda, U.S

Rarity here. This is species was described in the 1950s, named after the town it was collected near and only a handful of specimens have ever been collected that I am aware of. In fact it is so rare that it was on our list of "missing" species, published in 2011.

Rarity here. This is species was described in the 1950s, named after the town it was collected near and only a handful of specimens have ever been collected that I am aware of. In fact it is so rare that it was on our list of "missing" species, published in 2011.

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Colletes validus, f, face, Providence Co., RI
Colletes validus, f, face, Providence Co., RI
Colletes validus, f, face, Providence Co., RI

A blueberry specialist. Look how long that face is...The space between the mandible and the eye is what bee heads often use to separate species. This Colletes validus has a huggggggeeee malar space...other Colletes species essentially have none, the mandible being directly at the base of the eye. Why?

A blueberry specialist. Look how long that face is...The space between the mandible and the eye is what bee heads often use to separate species. This Colletes validus has a huggggggeeee malar space...other Colletes species essentially have none, the mandible being directly at the base of the eye. Why?

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Colletes validus, male, side
Colletes validus, male, side
Colletes validus, male, side

Look at the veryyyyyyy long distance from the bottom of the compound eye to the mandible base (technically this is called the malar space). Few bees show this long a head and it is nearly distinctive within Colletes at least in the north. This is a species that likes to hang out around blueberries and other Vaccinium type things.

Look at the veryyyyyyy long distance from the bottom of the compound eye to the mandible base (technically this is called the malar space). Few bees show this long a head and it is nearly distinctive within Colletes at least in the north. This is a species that likes to hang out around blueberries and other Vaccinium type things.

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Colletes willistoni, m, back, Hooker Co., NE
Colletes willistoni, m, back, Hooker Co., NE
Colletes willistoni, m, back, Hooker Co., NE

Bedraggled Bee. We picture here Colletes willistoni, with mussy hair, something Colletes is prone to. For me this is mostly irritating, in that they don't clean up well for their pictures, for the bees, well, its hard to say, they are an old lineage and apparently great looking hair under all conditions was not their evolutionary priority.

Bedraggled Bee. We picture here Colletes willistoni, with mussy hair, something Colletes is prone to. For me this is mostly irritating, in that they don't clean up well for their pictures, for the bees, well, its hard to say, they are an old lineage and apparently great looking hair under all conditions was not their evolutionary priority.

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Dynastes tityus, f, side face, MD
Dynastes tityus, f, side face, MD
Dynastes tityus, f, side face, MD

Eastern Hercules Beetle, Female, Old, Found on the Ground, Scarred, Dirty, Ancient, Maryland, Dynastes tityus, Grubs live in rotten logs, HUGE. Found by Jessica Zelt while going on a walk. Pictures by Amanda Robinson.

Eastern Hercules Beetle, Female, Old, Found on the Ground, Scarred, Dirty, Ancient, Maryland, Dynastes tityus, Grubs live in rotten logs, HUGE. Found by Jessica Zelt while going on a walk. Pictures by Amanda Robinson.

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Dysdercus ocreatus U, back, Dominican Republic
Dysdercus ocreatus U, back, Dominican Republic
Dysdercus ocreatus U, back, Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic - Common on flowers November 2012 -Dysdercus ocreatus; identified by Tom Henry, many thanks

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Echinacea purpurea, disk flower 2, Howard, Md, GFG, Helen Lowe Metzman
Echinacea purpurea, disk flower 2, Howard, Md, GFG, Helen Lowe Metzman
Echinacea purpurea, disk flower 2, Howard, Md, GFG, Helen Lowe Metzman

Everyone's favorite native plant, the purple coneflower, pretty decent for pollinators, but not nearly as good as some other less sexy flowering plants. Specimen and picture by Helen Low Metzman.

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Edwyniana near flavicornis, f, 00605f08, side, chile
Edwyniana near flavicornis, f, 00605f08, side, chile
Edwyniana near flavicornis, f, 00605f08, side, chile

The first set in a long series of pictures to come out of a visit to Laurence Packer's lab, where we are picking out all sorts of lovely world wide bees to photograph. This dandy (yes it is tomato colored) is common in the temperate areas of Chile and Argentina, this bad girl is from Chile.

The first set in a long series of pictures to come out of a visit to Laurence Packer's lab, where we are picking out all sorts of lovely world wide bees to photograph. This dandy (yes it is tomato colored) is common in the temperate areas of Chile and Argentina, this bad girl is from Chile.

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Elephantopus carolinianus 3, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman
Elephantopus carolinianus 3, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman
Elephantopus carolinianus 3, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman

Elephantopus carolinianus - One of the elephant's foot group. I heard that it can be a good pollinator plant, but don't, as of yet, have much in the way of experience these. Photo and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Elephantopus carolinianus - One of the elephant's foot group. I heard that it can be a good pollinator plant, but don't, as of yet, have much in the way of experience these. Photo and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman.

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Epeoloides pilosulus, m, back, nh, powerline
Epeoloides pilosulus, m, back, nh, powerline
Epeoloides pilosulus, m, back, nh, powerline

The poster child for rare bees of concern in North America. This is Epeoloides pilosula, collected on David Wagner's study of the conservation landscape of transmission lines. This is a nest parasite of Macropis oil bees. In this study they found both M. nuda and M. ciliata uncommon bees in themselves.

The poster child for rare bees of concern in North America. This is Epeoloides pilosula, collected on David Wagner's study of the conservation landscape of transmission lines. This is a nest parasite of Macropis oil bees. In this study they found both M. nuda and M. ciliata uncommon bees in themselves.

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Epeoloides pilosulus, m, side, nh, powerline
Epeoloides pilosulus, m, side, nh, powerline
Epeoloides pilosulus, m, side, nh, powerline

The poster child for rare bees of concern in North America. This is Epeoloides pilosula, collected on David Wagner's study of the conservation landscape of transmission lines. This is a nest parasite of Macropis oil bees. In this study they found both M. nuda and M. ciliata uncommon bees in themselves.

The poster child for rare bees of concern in North America. This is Epeoloides pilosula, collected on David Wagner's study of the conservation landscape of transmission lines. This is a nest parasite of Macropis oil bees. In this study they found both M. nuda and M. ciliata uncommon bees in themselves.

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Epeoloides pilosulus, m,face2, nh powerline
Epeoloides pilosulus, m,face2, nh powerline
Epeoloides pilosulus, m,face2, nh powerline

The poster child for rare bees of concern in North America. This is Epeoloides pilosula, collected on David Wagner's study of the conservation landscape of transmission lines. This is a nest parasite of Macropis oil bees. In this study they found both M. nuda and M. ciliata uncommon bees in themselves.

The poster child for rare bees of concern in North America. This is Epeoloides pilosula, collected on David Wagner's study of the conservation landscape of transmission lines. This is a nest parasite of Macropis oil bees. In this study they found both M. nuda and M. ciliata uncommon bees in themselves.

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Epeolus erigeronis, M, Back, NC, Moore County
Epeolus erigeronis, M, Back, NC, Moore County
Epeolus erigeronis, M, Back, NC, Moore County

This very very rare bee invades the nests of bees in the genus Colletes. Captured by Heather Campbell in the Sandhills of North Carolina and photographed by Amber JoyceCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Photographer: Sam Droege, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

This very very rare bee invades the nests of bees in the genus Colletes. Captured by Heather Campbell in the Sandhills of North Carolina and photographed by Amber JoyceCanon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Photographer: Sam Droege, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

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