Images

One of the most common and plain bees in the East. This is the very small Lasioglossum hitchensi. Its commoness did not prevent it from being undescribed scientifically. In only the last 10 years was it given a name by Jason Gibbs, who extracted it from many confusing and similar look alike species.

Male Lasioglossum can be tricky. Here is one of the dark ones from the highly bee productive Fossil Butte National Monument.

A pretty little Lasioglossum from the Dialictus group. This bee was collected in the San Juan Island national historic Park in Washington state. Photograph by Brooke Alexander. 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.

One of what seem like one billion different kinds of small shiny slightly metallic Lasioglossum species. This one characterized by very sparse pitting on the top of the thorax and bit more glintyness on the abdomen (yep, not great characters).

Lasioglossum marinense, from the San Juan Islands National Historic Park, found in the eastern parts of the Pacific Northwest. Photograph by Dejen Mengis.

From Bryce Canyon National Park comes a small Lasioglossum, similar to many other species of this specious genus. Western in distribution I know actually nothing about its life. Picture by Brooke Alexander.

From one of the coastal National Parks in St. John's County in Florida comes a lovely red-legged Lasioglossum tarponense. I think of this species as a sand specialist...living in the Florida scrubby sand coastal pine matrix that forms an important part of the natural matrix of the region behind the sand dunes.

Nacogodoches County, texas, Big Thicket National Preserve

Joan Milam collected this particular Lasioglossum. Darn if it doesn't look like all the rest of them. Photography by Brooke Alexander. 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.

Check out the large ocelli on this bad boy. This is Lasioglossum texanum, a dusk loving bee that is out late when the Oenothera (evening primroses) bloom. This is a male, and was found in South Dakota in Badlands National Park.

Lasioglossum truncatum, Maryland

One of the common Dialictus group Lasioglossum species, often involved in confusion among several similar species. This one collected by Tim McMahon in Cecil County Maryland

Lasioglossum foxii, Maryland, Female, Alleghany County, July 2012

Lasioglossum leucozonium, female

Lasioglossum marinum, Female, Florida, National Park Service, Fort Matanzas National Monument

Lasioglossum vierecki, female

Female Northern Black Widow Spider, Beltsville, MD Prince George's County, Collected by Jessica Zelt

Leafhopper, Sharpshooter Collected in November 2012 Dominican Republic at high elevations in central highlands, photgraphed in hand sanitizer in a quartz cuvette. Yes, those are the real colors.

Leafhopper, Sharpshooter Collected in November 2012 Dominican Republic at high elevations in central highlands, photgraphed in hand sanitizer in a quartz cuvette. Yes, those are the real colors.

Leafhopper, Placed in handsanitizer in a cuvette, Beltsville, Maryland

The False Potato Beetle. Closely related to the Colorado Potato Beetle, but prefers other potato relatives such as Horsenettle. Proportions, colors, layout....exquisite. Collected by the fabulous potato beetle researcher Don Weber at the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center.