Images

Megachile aramaticeps, female, GTMO, Cuba Naval Base

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee - A leaf cutting bee, common throughout much of North America

A pair of head shots...including the rarely seen underside of a bee head. The species: Megachile campanulae. From: Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Status common and regular if you swing a net in the summer. Megachile always have lovely omatidia (those lovely hex things on the compound eyes).

Two shots of a male Megachile mendica I caught today in Green Ridge area in western Maryland.

Two shots of a male Megachile mendica I caught today in Green Ridge area in western Maryland.

Many of the Megachile are pea lovers and this one is no exception. A spring member of the Chalicodoma subgenus. Collected by Jelle Devalez as part of his studies of the islands of Greece. Photography by Brooke Alexander.

The male of Megachile mucida, this is one of the leafcutter bees, Collected by Heather Campbell in the Southern Pines area of North Carolina.

Megachile pseudobrevis, female, Fort Matanzas National Monument, Florida

Fort Mantanzas National Monument has Megachile pseudobrevis living in it. How nice that National Monuments now become sanctuaries for bees and Nature while we continue to tame to death the rest of the world. Photography by Miss Sierra Williams.

Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia

Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia

The magnificent mandibled Megachile pugnata. Look how long and wide those mandibles are. Its not clear to me why this species requires much longer mandibles than others, it appears to not be cutting out larger pieces of leaves for its nests, but perhaps it is the type, processing and location of the leaf material that is important.

Some rather bad pictures of M. pugnata males. Not sure why I selected this specimen. Terrible hair. But, anyway check out the large expanded front tarsi. Will have to get additional specimens. Collected in WV by Dave Smith who had fabulous numbers of specimens in malaise samples. Still going through them after 10 years.

Megachile relativa, a relativa (get it?) common species in northern parts of North America. The orangish pollen carrying hairs under the abdomen are uncommon and therefore useful when sussing out this species.

Megachile campanulae, Allegany Count, MD, May 2012

Megachile mendica, male, May 2012, Allegany County, Maryland

Megachile relativa, female, Allegany County, Maryland, May 2012

Megachile sculpturalis, Maryland, Cumberland, Allegany County

Megachile townsendiana, female, Florida

What an interesting species. Instead of flying during the day, this species flies just before dawn and just after dusk, times where we have difficulty seeing. This species, however, forages on crepuscular and night fowering flowers, more often associated with bats and moths. Note the large eyes and ocelli.

Meganomia binghami, Bingham 's Giant, collected in South Africa by Bryan DanforthMales of many species of bee have various modifications that are not found in the females and are presumably sexually selected "“ they arose because the females preferred males with, rather than those without, these strange features.