Coelioxys dolichos, f, back, md, kent county

Most Coelioxys look similar (don't you agree?), dulled gray black, heavily pitted, with strong patterns of popping white hair bands. Ah, but here, we have one arrayed in batmobile colors, glossy, midnight black with reduced pitting and purple/black wings. While strictly conjecture, this does make sense since its host (in which nest it lays its eggs) is similarly colored (Megachile xylocopoides) and similar departs from the general Megachile model. How important does host/ cleptoparasite matching matter in bees? I don't know.This bee, the second record for the State of Maryland, moving north with its southern host 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 USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.