Images

Lindernia dubia, false pimpernel, one of numerous low growing flowering plants that feed the many tiny bees that live out there, that we don't pay any attention to. Specimen and photo by Helen Lowe Metzman.

A lovely and quirky looking Liphanthus from Southern Chile. Capture on expedition with Laurence Packer in 2017. Photograph by Anders Croft.

Looks just like a "bee" does it not? Not super sexy, pretty plain really. But so very interesting. This is Melitta melittoides. A very uncommon bee. Uncommon because it only feeds its babies the pollen from Lyonia (Fetterbush, Staggerbush if you will).

Dominican Republic, The only described all black Agapostemon in the Caribbean is from Cuba. (A. obscuratus). Collected in November of 2012. This is either A. obscuratus and a new record for Hispaniola or a new species.

Hermaphrodite! (aka a gynandromorph) This Agapostemon texanus or angelicus (species can't be determined here) is part male and part female. This happens in I think all animals and I have seen about 5 of these after looking at about 400,000 bee specimens. This one was brought in by Tim McMahon after he collected it in Arizona.

More Green Bees. This is a common one, one of the commonest summer bees in the East. Agapostemon virescens. The females have a black abdomen unlike the other female Agapostemons in the East which are bright green all round. This one was caught in Caroline County in Maryland. Picture by Amanda Robinson.

Agapostemon splendens, female, Florida, October 2011, Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve

Agapostemon splendens, female, Florida, October 2011, Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve

Agastache species make some of the best bee attracting plants. Here is Agastache foeniculum. Photo and specimen 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.

White Snakeroot, Ageratina altissima. Collected and Photographed by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Aglaoapis tridentata, Spined Goth, specimen collected by Heinrich Friese in AustriaThere are but three species of Goths, oddly scattered across the northern Old World with the Spined Goth occurring across the temperate regions, one in India, and one way down in South Africa.

Aglaoapis tridentata, Spined Goth, specimen collected by Heinrich Friese in AustriaThere are but three species of Goths, oddly scattered across the northern Old World with the Spined Goth occurring across the temperate regions, one in India, and one way down in South Africa.

Just one section of Swamp Agrimony (Agrimonia parviflora). Picture and specimen from Howard County, Maryland by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Amegilla....one of a large group of large Old World bees that blend and fracture colors in wonderful ways. In this case this male Amegilla from Australia from the Laurence Packer Lab bee slots in a whole series of subtly iridescent green hairs amidst a mix of white and black, quite nice and surely a useful design for a rug or tapestry of some sort.

Amegilla....one of a large group of large Old World bees that blend and fracture colors in wonderful ways. In this case this male Amegilla from Australia from the Laurence Packer Lab bee slots in a whole series of subtly iridescent green hairs amidst a mix of white and black, quite nice and surely a useful design for a rug or tapestry of some sort.

Tongue of the Amegilla. You can see the longgggg tongue with its brushed tip designed to lap nectar and the odd bits of pollen. You can also see the sheathes and the palps the fold out from under the head to create a tube for sucking up nectar when plentiful. From India = An unknown species of Amegila collected by Suzanne Batra.

Number 2 in our new series on bee ID....Agapostemon Males

Unknown Beetle. Found on Andelot Farms in Kent County. I am not sure what genus this is. Seems like Acmaeodera, but it doesn't match and of the region's species I know. Captured in June. Photographed by Brooke Alexander.

Andrena miserabilis, showing sharp pronotal corners

Sample of Dead Birds that struck buildings in Washington D.C. during the Fall and Spring of 2012 in a short stretch of streets from Union Station to the Convention Center, photo stitched together from 18 separate hi res shots.

Catching up, again, with our backlog of pictures. Here is one of the most common Andrena species in the mid-Atlantic. Andrena cressonii. Photographed by Dejen Mengis.