Images

Karner Blue, Lycaeides melissa samuelis, an endangered lupine eater, This one from Indiana, while the specimen is not in great shape, at full resolution the scales and micro patterns are still beautiful

One of the rarely seen leafcutting bees, this one is Megachile integrella from the sandhills of North Carolina collected by Heather Campbell and photoed by Amber Reese

Macropis europaea, European Oil Bee, specimen collected by Heinrich Friese in AustriaSometimes an entire group of bees develops a relationship with one group of plants. The 16 little species of Macropis Oil Bees are such a case. They only seek pollen and oil from plants within the genus Lysimachia.

Lasioglossum versatum. One of the most common little sweat bees in the East. Particularly common in the cooler mid-latitudes. These bees can dominate the captures in surveys of bee species of a region. Something of a mess taxonomically.

Lasioglossum foxii, Alleghany County, Maryland, July 2012

Lasioglossum gotham is a small sweat bee, that I find mostly in the early spring, mostly in Woodlands and I suspect it is very much keyed in to nesting in upturned root masses of trees in those woodlands.

Lasioglossum truncatum, female, Pink overtones is from reflections from the stand we were using at the time, the bee is entirely black and white

A leafhopper, or something related to a leafhopper, that happened to show up in our bycatch at the lab (Laurel, Maryland). Arrayed in such a lovely way, we were compelled to take its picture. I would love to have someone come in with leafhopper specimens, or hunt them on the refuge, so we could photograph fresh material.

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Leptochilus acolhuus, Key Biscayne National Park, Florida, Thanks to Matthias Buck for the determination.

Nacogodoches County, texas, Big Thicket National Preserve

A male, with great, long antennae, the yellow tarsal segments are distinctive in conjuction with the yellow on the clypeus and the slightly weakened veins in the wings. Collected by Tim McMahon and photoed by Dejen Mengis

A male, with great, long antennae, the yellow tarsal segments are distinctive in conjuction with the yellow on the clypeus and the slightly weakened veins in the wings. Collected by Tim McMahon and photoed by Dejen Mengis. Here I see the hands of a Balinese dancer

A male, with great, long antennae, the yellow tarsal segments are distinctive in conjuction with the yellow on the clypeus and the slightly weakened veins in the wings. Collected by Tim McMahon and photoed by Dejen Mengis

Here is a bee that clearly loves woodlands: Lasioglossum versans. In the obscure morphological vernacular of tiny sweat bees, I identify it by its tiny bulging purple "nose" (supraclypeus) and its complete lack of a hair fan on the base of T1.

Often the most common Lasioglossum at a location in the East. This is Lasioglossum versatum. While common it has the sad trait of sometimes looking like L. trigeminum or L. callidum or L. adimirandum. In isolation they all seem so separable, but since they often occur at the same site and have a tendency to look slightly similar it can be a nightmare.

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.

Mimi Jenkins collected this lovely nest parasite in the sandy watermelon fields outside of Charleston, South Carolina. This bee presumably is adding its egg to the nest of Agapostemon splendens a denizen of sandy areas around the eastern part of the continent. It is a male as you can tell from the amount of yellow on the face and the 13 antennal segments.