Images

Cuba, GTMO, Guantanamo Bay

A bee with great form. The shot of this from Africa from the back reminds me of sputnik. As in all the anthidiini it is a wonderful combination of deep pits and tastefully arrayed colors. I think such designs would look great as warrior outerwear.

Pachymelus bicolor, m, face, madagascar

Palaeorhiza species, Badass Masked Bee, specimen collected in Papua New GuineaThin, relatively hairless, dangerous looking Masked Bees are waspish in aspect since they carry their pollen and nectar internally rather than trapped in external hairs.

Tiny. One would want this in your woodland rock garden. Dwarf Ginseng, Panax trifolius. Specimen and picture by Helen Lowe Metzman. Photography Information: 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.

An Uncommon (or is it?) Deerberry specialist. If you don't collect bees on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) you will never see this bee (Panurginus atramontensis). It only gathers pollen and probably almost all of its nectar from this plant.

An Uncommon (or is it?) Deerberry specialist. If you don't collect bees on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) you will never see this bee (Panurginus atramontensis). It only gathers pollen and probably almost all of its nectar from this plant.

Pompilid Spider Wasp, Central Highlands High Elevation Domincan RepublicPepsis ruficornis. Someone has suggested that this one be called the Woolly Mammoth Spider Wasp

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, Perdita albihirta

Petrified Forest National Monument, AZ

Perdita asteris, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Fort Matanzas National Monument, Florida - only about 6mm in length, notice characteristic sharp bend in mandibles. Doug Inkley from National Wildlife Federation has given this one the common name Mr Miyagi.

You never know what you are going to run into. This is Perdita bradleyi. A very uncommon bee and only the second record I know of for Maryland or any of the surrounding states. Found by Don Harvey and then Tim McMahon on Jug Bay Wetlands Reserve in Anne Arundel County.

You never know what you are going to run into. This is Perdita bradleyi. A very uncommon bee and only the second record I know of for Maryland or any of the surrounding states. Found by Don Harvey and then Tim McMahon on Jug Bay Wetlands Reserve in Anne Arundel County.

New Vermont Species Record. This little tiny bee is a specialist on a plant that most people pull out of their gardens, Physalis, or Ground Cherry, this plant has a number of specialists associated with it and, we should think about it as something to plant in our gardens!

Another Reason that Weeds Have Value: In this case the weed is Physalis, tomitillos or ground cherries. Native to North America they are usually considered weeds unless they are one of the edible varieties, yet, they host several native bees who can only live on Physalis pollen, moving this weed in my mind a bit more to the good side of the ledger book.

Perdita luteola, Arizona, Petrified Forest National Park

Another old and ancient fulgorid specimen from the Smithsonian. If you peer upclose you can see that it is a wall of tiny dust and dirt specs a sign of a collection that at one point was not so collected as it is at the Natural History museum. The hole below the eye was likely made by a friendly dermestid larvae. Still useful and still spectacular.

Frederick County Maryland, Collected by Richard Orr

Euglossa....the orchid bees, swanky glintlings of the New World tropical forests. The males gather fragrances produced by orchids who are then pollinated by the infatuations of these males.

Another widespread mason bee from the West...this one was found in Yellowstone National Park as part of a study of alpine bee populations there. Osmia albolateralis is its name...sadly, like most bees it lacks a common name. Photographed by Elizabeth Garcia.