Images

Mutillid Wasp, Male Velvet Ant, Prince George's County, Maryland

Ah, here is a good story, this is a shot of a female Nomada found at the museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. I have visited their museum many times, but only this last time did I find a synoptic collection of bees from New England that was separate from the rest of their large, lovely, and old collection of bees.

Tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny. You can tell this from the size of the pin. What is size anyway. Clearly this is larger than a virus, let's say, but smaller than an elephant or bread box. But in the perspective of bees, this is really really small...because it is a nest parasite of Perdita which are the smallest of all the bees in North America.

St. Francis's Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli francisci). Only found in North Carolina and only found on Ft. Bragg. Feeds on grasses and sedges in wetlands along streams, most of those wetlands created by beaver and periodic fires from Base activities. These specimens came from captive reared populations that USFWS and others are attempting to slowly create.

St. Francis's Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli francisci). Only found in North Carolina and only found on Ft. Bragg. Feeds on grasses and sedges in wetlands along streams, most of those wetlands created by beaver and periodic fires from Base activities. These specimens came from captive reared populations that USFWS and others are attempting to slowly create.

Like islands in general, there are not many species of bees in New Zealand. John Ascher's species of the world lists only 49 and a BIG chunk of them are not native to the islands. This one is native. This is Nesocolletes fulvescens, one of 7 species in Nesocolletes all of whom are found only in New Zealand. Photo by Sydney Price.

Like islands in general, there are not many species of bees in New Zealand. John Ascher's species of the world lists only 49 and a BIG chunk of them are not native to the islands. This one is native. This is Nesocolletes fulvescens, one of 7 species in Nesocolletes all of whom are found only in New Zealand. Photo by Sydney Price.

Nomada affabilis...a very large Nomada. I think this species is almost certainly a nest parasite of bees in the genus Eucera...which is quite a different path from most of the other Nomada which are primarily, though not exclusively, nest parasites of Andrena.

A nest parasite of bees in the genus Agapostemon...perhaps this one targets Agapostemon splendens...which as the name implies is particularly splendidly arrayed in metallic blues and greens. This bee was captured as part of a survey of bees in Gateway National Recreation Area...which includes much of the harbor area of New York City.

A moderate sized Nomada, a bee that lays its eggs in the nests of bees in the genus Andrena. This species, at least in the male, has a distinctive antennae. You can see it in at least the picture taken of the bee's side that the underside of the antenna is partially eroded away leaving a hollow on each segment.

Rare Bee Alert. Here is Nomada erigeronis. Handful of records...more Midwest...but here is one from the East. New Jersey, in fact. Relatively big. Similar species nest parasitize Agapostemon, but what's up here. Seems to be active in the May-July area.

Rare Bee Alert. Here is Nomada erigeronis. Handful of records...more Midwest...but here is one from the East. New Jersey, in fact. Relatively big. Similar species nest parasitize Agapostemon, but what's up here. Seems to be active in the May-July area.

Here we have the nest parasite of one of Puerto Rico's Centris bees. Its lays its eggs in the nests of the host, kills the hosts egg or young and eats the stores. Taxonomically its not clear what this species is but it appears to be close to (aff. = affiliated with) M. rufipes. Perhaps you, dear reader, will figure that out.

Collected by Tim McMahon in Costa Rica, this is a nest parasite of Centris species, this is Mesoplia rufipes. Nicely aglow with red legs and a blue abdomen. Photo by Anders Croft.

Our disguised snap dragon the Square-stemmed Monkey Flower. Edges of woods, particularly if damp seems to be where I mostly find it. Collected and photographed by Helen Lowe Metzman.

The foot of the American Mink: Neovison vison. A lovely male freshly killed where a stream crosses the road in the progenitor of all suburbs: Bowie, Maryland. All sorts of things exist in these seeming wastelands.

The tiny twin whiteness of Partridgeberry blooms. Just part of that lovely obscure flora we have that paints some of our forest floors. I associate Mitchella repens with woods on the acid end of the scale in areas with a little slope and not a lot of competition with other plants. A hard one to take good shots with our set up ....too white....too much flash.

The tiny twin whiteness of Partridgeberry blooms. Just part of that lovely obscure flora we have that paints some of our forest floors. I associate Mitchella repens with woods on the acid end of the scale in areas with a little slope and not a lot of competition with other plants. A hard one to take good shots with our set up ....too white....too much flash.

Ghost Pipe, nice name for the parasitic plant. Who knew that it is now considered to be part of the Heath family with kinship to blueberries and cranberries. Pollinators go to the ghost pipe too. Plant and photo by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Dominican Republic, thanks to Julio Genaro for the identification

Nomada rubicunda. This species is a nest parasite of bees in the genus Agapostemon....most Nomada are nest parasites of Andrena. This species is probably focused on Agapostemon splendens. Photographed by Joseph Malone and Amanda Robinson. One of only two records for Maryland, collected on fossil dunes by Jen Frye.