Images

Whoops, forgot to add this shot of Oxaea to the last set...nice shot of the big nose on this species.

Cuba, GTMO, Guantanamo Bay

A bee with great form. The shot of this from Africa from the back reminds me of sputnik. As in all the anthidiini it is a wonderful combination of deep pits and tastefully arrayed colors. I think such designs would look great as warrior outerwear.

Golden Ragwort, Packera aurea. Common in Appalachia...and spotty on the coastal plains. Favored by Andrena gardineri...who feed their young only pollen from this plant. A nice ground cover plant for gardens, particularly shaded ones....Photo and specimens from Helen Lowe Metzman.

Golden Ragwort, Packera aurea. Common in Appalachia...and spotty on the coastal plains. Favored by Andrena gardineri...who feed their young only pollen from this plant. A nice ground cover plant for gardens, particularly shaded ones....Photo and specimens from Helen Lowe Metzman.

From the northern hemisphere comes ... Panurginus. A common group of largely dark little bees, with the males, at times having yellow on their faces, in keeping with the general pattern of males having more yellow than females.

Paracolletes species, On and Off Bee, specimen collected in AustraliaThis species is unusually sexually dimorphic in color. The males are quite bright, as can be seen here, the females are what might be called the "null hypothesis" for bee coloration "“ brownish grey on the head and thorax with a black abdomen with white transverse hair bands.

A nest parasite from the dry regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, this group infiltrates the communal nests of Exomalopsis to lay their eggs in the nest cells being built. Lovely combination of plush hair bands and shiny integument.

A nest parasite from the dry regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, this group infiltrates the communal nests of Exomalopsis to lay their eggs in the nest cells being built. Lovely combination of plush hair bands and shiny integumen.

Why do you insist, Pilgrim, on planting your garden with geraniums, tea roses, and begonias? You could be planting your garden to Woodlands sunflowers and then you would have the opportunity to help out the uncommon and undoubtedly declining Paranthidium jugatorium.

Perdita asteris, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Perdita asteris, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Fort Mantanzas has more cool bees to share with use from a tiny coastal monument run by the park service along the upper coast of Florida. This time more junior bees in the genus Perdita. Photography by Sierra Williams, photoshopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

New Vermont Species Record. This little tiny bee is a specialist on a plant that most people pull out of their gardens, Physalis, or Ground Cherry, this plant has a number of specialists associated with it and, we should think about it as something to plant in our gardens!

New Vermont Species Record. This little tiny bee is a specialist on a plant that most people pull out of their gardens, Physalis, or Ground Cherry, this plant has a number of specialists associated with it and, we should think about it as something to plant in our gardens!

A tiny sand loving Perdita from Maryland

A tiny sand loving Perdita from Maryland

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A wee 2mm Perilampid from Hart-Miller Island collected by Gene Scarpulla and awaiting final determination.

The oft times difficult to id male of the not so hard to id female Osmia georgica. Sometimes bees are inconvenient to work with. Picture by Amanda Robinson. 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.

The classic Blue Orchard Bee, that many gardeners make nests for by drilling blocks of wood or buying little houses or straws. All well and good except for the fact that 2 recent Asian Osmia species are now starting to dominate populations in both urban and rural areas. O. taurus and O. cornifrons.