Images

Melissodes communis from Biscayne National Park at the tip of Florida. Perhaps the most common species of Melissodes in the deep south. Big and hits the yellow composites like most of the Melissodes. Fast flier. The group is known as summer long-horned bees. Picture by Brooke Alexander, shopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

Melissodes communis, Biscayne National Park, Florida

On the big side of long-horns is Melissodes comptoides...as you move south and to the prairies...you get tricked up with M. communis and all its color variations. Fortunately, there are ways to tell them apart. Often common and found in many open habitats...particularly if you plant some composites for them...which of course ... you are. Photo by Brooke Goggins.

Many Melissodes...and there are many look just about the same making them yet another difficult group to differentiate. Here is a common eastern one...a species that makes its way to the north of its near look alike. Picture taken by Ashleigh Jacobs, photshopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

Bryce Canyon Utah...not only has awesome geological formations, but also has awesome bees such as Melissodes conrfusa...in fact the dry west has many more species inhabiting it than the moist and lush landscapes of eastern North America. Picture by Sue Boo. Melissodes confusa captured as part of a large National Park service project.

Tiny bee, longggggg tongue, this is the only member of its genus that has been found and is associated with the endemic desert plants in the genus Malesherbia. This species makes its nest in reexisting cracks in the dry dry soils of the region.

Foreign Extremists: Yep, these species are attacking Purple Loosestrife left and right. Imported plant being attacked by imported beetles. This is either Neogalerucella calmariensis or N. pussila, it is not clear to me how to tell them apart, but I lean towards the former, if anyone cares.

This is picture 5 from a 12 picture invited series by Matt Buffington (matt.buffington@usda.gov) at the USDA Parastitic Hymentoptera group using specimens from the U.S. Natural History Museum Smithsonian.

New Zealand. A pretty big island group. It has roughly the land mass of Colorado. Bee-wise the comparison ends. Colorado probably has well over 1000 bee species where as New Zealand...but about 50. Here is one. Nesocolletes (an endemic New Zealand genus) fulvescens. This was collected by Mike Turell while visiting. I like the mood of these pictures.

New Zealand. A pretty big island group. It has roughly the land mass of Colorado. Bee-wise the comparison ends. Colorado probably has well over 1000 bee species where as New Zealand...but about 50. Here is one. Nesocolletes (an endemic New Zealand genus) fulvescens. This was collected by Mike Turell while visiting. I like the mood of these pictures.

Acadia National Park in Maine has plenty of bees and is one of the few areas of the country where some understanding of the past bee community has been published, by the Proctor of Proctor and Gamble on Mount Desert Island. Nomada maculata is a nest parasite...mostly likely on some of the larger spring Andrena species.

Nomada affabilis a likely nest parasite of Eucera bees, something people still need to determine for sure.

This Nomada is also from Washington County in southeastern Ohio. It was also collected by MaLisa Spring and is thought to be a nest parasites of Andrena macra a southern bee. Why are they all stripy and yellow? Photographed by Brooke Alexander.

Nomada articulata - A nest parasite of bright green Agapostemons. Most Nomada are nest parasites of Andrena. Not this species. The male is noted for its antenna mods. There is an odd sharp spine underneath the 3rd elongated flagellar segment. Why? Several other Nomada kin have the same thing, so it must be useful.

Found in Urban Baltimore, Armistead Gardens

An interesting bee from Florida. Collected by Anthony Abbate. Not much is know about this species, it shows up in collections not very commonly and has western counterparts which may, or may not, be the same species. So much to do!

As you can see from the tattered edges of the wings...this is an old bee, meaning it has been out and about for about 5 weeks. This is also a male, one could count the antennal segments (13 in males, 12 in females) but you can also tell by the greatly expanded white front legs, these are used to cover the females eyes during mating....

Megachile apicalis, female, Maryland, Cumberland, July 2012, Railroad Tracks, on Knapweed

Megachile armaticeps. Cuba, GTMO, Female, note the structures on the clypeus! June 2011

Megachile brevis, Female, Maryland, Kent County

Megachile brevis, female, Kent County, Maryland, June 2012