Images

This is an odd Genus of bee from Kruger National Park where I traveled with Jonathan Mawdsley to South Africa to collect bees in the park. While a poor shot in terms of the antennae...if you look closely one of the antennae is broadened like the bowl of a spoon (thus the genus name Spatunomia) while the other is simply broken off.

Piranga olivacea - Sadly this particular bird collided with a building in downtown Washington D.C. and the Lights Out DC / City Wildlife found it on an early spring morning. Here is a closeup of the coverts on the wing area. Photograph by Sue Boo.

I THINK this is a sedge, but sadly I just grabbed it quickly while at Finzel Swamp (western Maryland) where it was blooming in clumps around the edge of the large pond located there. Any corrections to my Sedge ID would be very welcome

Ah, another different sedge from the swamp behind my house...close up of the flower head. Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Photograph by Brooke Alexander.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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

The white-margined burrower bug. Scientifically we would call it Sehirus cinctus. Small, feeds on mints and nettles. Not picky, feeds on the weedy mints that inhabit our weedy lawns. Sticks around a bit and helps its babies out for a few days. Unusual for a bug. Picture by Greta Forbes. This specimen found at the lab at Patuxent.

Ovenbird foot, collected with permits by Lights Out DC group in spring or fall migration of 2012 after colliding with buildings at night in Washington D.C.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, collected by Stephanie Wilson at the Morris Arboretum

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, collected by Stephanie Wilson at the Morris Arboretum

A nest parasite of Melissodes, this is a relatively common species of an uncommon genus. Collected by Sabrie Breland in South Georgia in a lovely remnant of longleaf pine. Picture by Brooke Alexander.

Another nest parasite. Another Triepeolus. This time is is T. lunatus. A common species for a nest parasite in that it shows up regularly. The thought is that it is the nest parasite of Melissodes bimaculata which is perhaps the most abundant long-horned bee in the East, but probably is more generic in what Melissodes' nest it will invade.

Powerlines. Or more accurately transmission corridors. Now one of the few places that open country forb communities exist in many parts of the East. Often seen as a blight, they if not mown or sprayed to death, are places of refuge for many rare bees.

Great Brewster Island, Boston Harbor, Part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. This, is a nest parasite of bees in the genus Melissodes

Great Brewster Island, Boston Harbor, Part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. This, is a nest parasite of bees in the genus Melissodes

Here is a bee, Triepeolus remigatus, that is native to North America, but in much of the continent occurs only because of the crops we plant. In this case that crop is squash and pumpkins.

First state record for Maryland. Collected at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in their very lovely pollinator garden. A possible nest parasite of Svastra obliqua which was also collected at the same time.

An unknown species of Triepeolus from the southern most part of Georgia. Not sure what species as it doesn't seem to key out very well to any particular species. Will have to send off to Molly Gee for ID. Collected by Dave Gruenewald who is studying the bees in southern pine plantations.

One of a few undescribed Triepeolus that Molly Rightmyer left undescribed after her revision of the group North of Mexico. She simply labeled it Sp. 101. This one was captured by Tim McMahon in Cochise County, Arizona.

This small picture-winged fly was captured in Maryland and Photographed by Wayne Boo

This is picture 12 from a 12 picture invited series by Matt Buffington (matt.buffington@usda.gov) at the USDA Parastitic Hymentoptera group using specimens from the U.S. Natural History Museum Smithsonian. Matt uses a system very similar to ours to photograph and stack this super tiny wasp.

Dominican Republic, trypoxylon mexicanum

Trypoxylon mexicanum, Trypoxylon species unknown