Images

Andrena aliciae, male

Here lie the birds killed while striking a set of buildings surveyed during the migration season in 2013 in Washington D.C. The birds were picked up by the group Lights Out Washington D.C.

The red maple, Acer rubrum, often one of the most dominant trees in deciduous woods in the East. It blooms very early in the spring and provides pollen and nectar to the set of bees, and flower flies, that come out early.

Another tree flower loving beetle from South Africa this one a buprestid, Acmaeodera virgo. Collected widely in bowl traps and in trees in Kruger National Park. Photo by Kelly Graninger.

Ohio Buckeye, Aesculus glabra. Buckeye's...one of the nice little acknowledged providers of pollen and nectar in forested environments. Specimen and photos by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Lovely wasp from Kruger National Park. Again, not being a wasp person, I don't know the species. The group may be the sand wasp (Bembicini) . Photos by Anders Croft.

A large bright green with blue overtones Agapostemon from Badlands National Park. One of several species present there and very similar to A. virescens and a bit tricky to tell apart. Photo by Wayne Boo with help from Ben Smith on upping the Photoshopping techniques.

Andrena species, Black-tipped Andrena, specimen collected by Jason Gibbs in OmanEvolution has blessed the genus Andrena with over 1500 different species, making it the second richest of all bee genera (Hairy-tongue Bees, Lasioglossum, are first).

Andrena perplexa - This is a male from Talbot County, Maryland, long thin mandibles, wide cheeks and a big for an Andrena. Common in woodland areas, like so many of the Andrena. 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.

Male Andrena bees can be difficult to identify. Particularly complicated and confusing are the subgenus Melandrena. Here is a member of that subgenus....A. pruni. However!

A common spring western Andrena. More colorful than the average dark chocolate Andrena (fuscous is what the old timers would call it). Quite reddish in its integument in spots and a nice yellow clypeus as in this male. Collected in the fabulous Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Photo by Kelly Graninger.

This small Andrena is around fairly late in the season (May-June) compared to other Andrena and hangs on on woody low shrubs and brambles. Not common an prone to being misidentified as A. brevipalpis. Hannah Sutton did the pictures.

This small Andrena is around fairly late in the season (May-June) compared to other Andrena and hangs on on woody low shrubs and brambles. Not common an prone to being misidentified as A. brevipalpis. Hannah Sutton did the pictures.

This small Andrena is around fairly late in the season (May-June) compared to other Andrena and hangs on on woody low shrubs and brambles. Not common an prone to being misidentified as A. brevipalpis. Hannah Sutton did the pictures.

Connecticut, Tracy Zarillo collector

Andrena specularia - This is a prairie bee. I know that because it is from North Dakota and there are no records that I know of east of the Mississippi River. In fact, there are no legit records outside of North Dakota. Other than the mysterious Turtle Mountains, ND is all about prairie. I would like to propose that this become the state's bee.

Andrena spiraeana is one of the set of bees in the Andrena subgenus Trachandrena. One of the characteristics of this relatively distinctive group are the deeply impressed fovea between the compound eyes and the antennae. A spring bee, I associate this species with wooded wetlands...but I may be simply mistaken on that account.

Various Andrena, adding to the catalog....most with bad hair. Sigh.

Andrena uvulariae, Female, Recently, this species was known only from the type, but work by Mike Arduser, Joan Milam, and John Ascher have resulted locating additional specimens along the the male. It appears to be a pollen specialist on Bellflowers. This specimen is approximately 100 years old from the Smithsonian collection.

Rare Bee Alert. Andrena uvulariae was described many years ago from specimens collected where I work in Beltsville, MD and then...it largely went off the radar screen as a legit species and all things that looked like this species were simply called A. ziziaformis.

Rare Bee Alert. Andrena uvulariae was described many years ago from specimens collected where I work in Beltsville, MD and then...it largely went off the radar screen as a legit species and all things that looked like this species were simply called A. ziziaformis.