Images

Here is a series of male and female Anthidiellum ehrhorni. these are small, relatively cute in the scheme of things, bees that dwell in the drylands of Southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. They are fast flying and remind me of flying peas for some reason. Though I can't recall any peas that look like A. ehrhorni.

Collected in the deserts of Cochise County in Arizona as part of the famous Bee Course there by Tim McMahon, these speedy little bees are found throughout much of North America.

Can't really get tired of Anthidiellums. Here is Anthidiellum notatum...it is found throughout the United States and leaks into both Canada and Mexico. As is often the case for something that occurs across an entire continent, there are color variants, differences in various dimensionalities of veins, pitting, legs, and other structures.

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 pallidiscopa, female, Badlands National Park, SD

A little male mining bee about the size of a grain of rice. Andrena personata is something I associate with sparse fields, not so much lawns. My guess that the usual lawn weeds don't have the right mix of patriotically native flower species it is looking for. Kind of pixie like, is what I want to say.

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.

Sexy Andrena. Yes, the normally black Andrena does have some sexy species. Here is one of my favorites. Andrena prunorum jacketed in amber with ribbing of white fur...or something like that. A common western species that leaked just enough out of the West to show up in Badlands National Park where we were studying the bee fauna of the Park.

A wee mining bee. Andrena robertsonii lives among the flowers, usually in mid to late spring, where it often lounges around gathering pollen on woody plants, things such as apples, roses, dogwoods, and sumacs. As most of you know it is super similar to A. brevipalpis, but I am not telling you anything new.

Connecticut, Tracy Zarillo collector

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.

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.

This is a first in what will be a series of pictures from Claire Kremen's Lab at U.C. Berkeley. This is Andrena vanduzeei, an endemic California bee, restricted to the High Sierras. Note the lovely blue metallic notes and surrounding dark hairs. Specimens collected in Yosemite National Park. Picture by Sydney Price.

This is a first in what will be a series of pictures from Claire Kremen's Lab at U.C. Berkeley. This is Andrena vanduzeei, an endemic California bee, restricted to the High Sierras. Note the lovely blue metallic notes and surrounding dark hairs. Specimens collected By Robbin Thorp. Picture by Sydney Price.

This is a first in what will be a series of pictures from Claire Kremen's Lab at U.C. Berkeley. This is Andrena vanduzeei, an endemic California bee, restricted to the High Sierras. Note the lovely blue metallic notes and surrounding dark hairs. Specimens collected in Yosemite National Park. Picture by Sydney Price.

Andrena virginiana, female

Washington County, Maryland, Andrena wilkella, female

Andrena wilkella, male, Washington County, Maryland

Andrena, which seem more prone to such things, perhaps because they are just a touch more delicate. So, it is nice to see a beautiful specimen like this Andrena wilmattae from Badlands National Park. A lovely presentation and our photographer, Anders Croft did a lovely job laying this specimen out. A joint venture I would say.