Images

The most common Coelioxys in the East. C. sayi is a nest parasite, slipping into the nests of leaf cutters like Megachile mendica and kin and dropping an egg into the wall of their nests. In the female, like this one, the edge of the clypeus is slightly indented (hard to see). Now you know.

April, Dorchester County, Maryland, likely off of willow, resting on fish hook tip. Joe Cavey supplied the determination

Appropriately coming from the latin noun for emerald, comes this large lovely from western Australia.

Unknown Cuerna species of Leafhopper from Fossil Butte National Monument, Wyoming

A native plant associated with dry rocky areas...usually intermixed with woodlands. As a mint it probably is a reasonable bee plant as an obscure, small plant it probably hasn't been looked at that much. Classic native mint used in all sorts of teas and infusions. Photo and specimen by Helen Low Metzman, Howard County, MD.

Unknown large weevil from Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic

Unknown large weevil from Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic

Ironically, after posting a picture of a dead white footed mouse, we post a picture of a skin warble or bot fly from the same species or species group of mice. In this case this is Cuterebra fontinella, a rather handsome fly with an interesting lifestyle. Collected as part of a large bumblebee survey by volunteers for Eric Rayfield. Photograph by Hannah Sutton.

Christmas Lights Jumping Spider from the Dominican Republic, species unknown, but surprisingly marked with fluorescent scales

Taraxacum officinale, common dandelion found in lawn of building 308 at the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center, Beltsville, MD

Green seed of one of my favorite grasses, I leave patches of this plant when I mow the "lawn." Presumably this is Dichanthelium clandestinum (formerly Panicum clandestinum), but am not sure if there are look alikes in my area.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,

The Dog Tick, Dermacentor variabilis, in its splendor of beet overtones and resistance to vilification. Found crawling on me in Beltsville, Maryland

Back to the Badlands of South Dakota. Here we get Diadasia....something that only shows up once you hit some of the isolated prairies in the MidWest until when you got to much of the West...they are everywhere. A common species, this one was found in a number of locations in the Badlands.

Destroyer of Ash, this is Agrilus planipennis an invasive Buprestid that has invaded North America where it feeds on Ash. trees. At this point all ash trees in North America are threatened and could ecologically eliminate them from North American forests. On the other hand it is a beautiful Buprestid beetle that simply was brought to the wrong place.

Destroyer of Ash, this is Agrilus planipennis an invasive Buprestid that has invaded North America where it feeds on Ash. trees. At this point all ash trees in North America are threatened and could ecologically eliminate them from North American forests. On the other hand it is a beautiful Buprestid beetle that simply was brought to the wrong place.

A series of 6 pictures of 3 species of very uncommon beetles that are new records for the region from George Washington Memorial Parkway unit of the National Park Service. Collected by Brent Steury.

A nest parasite of Colletes bees, this sharp looking, heavily armored Epeolus bifasciatus was found in Badlands National Park in South Dakota

A nest parasite of Colletes bees, this is perhaps the most common of the Epeolus species in eastern North America. This species main target is likely the common fall Cellophane Bee Colletes simulans. Photograph by Brooke Alexander.Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

A lovely study in coffee-colored integument, heavily branched thick bright white hairs and some nicely formed spines on the scutellum (the back part of the thorax). Members of this group are nest parasites on species in the genus Colletes. Another specimen from the Packer Lab.

A small heath, the trailing arbutus. Often thought to be rare, but more often than not simply overlooked. Attracts pollinators like the rest of the grouip. Epigaea repens. Specimen and photo by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Eriotremex formosanus, A giant introduced horntail from Asia found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN