Colletes cariniger, F, Back, Greece, Aegean Islands

Colletes cariniger: one of the larger early spring species and also one of the more common species in its genus in Greece. The females seen commonly foraging for pollen in fields full of composites like chamomile, mayweed and ragwort. This one was collected by Jelle Devalez on the Aegean Islands. 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. 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.