Diadasia rinconis, m, back, Pima Co., Tucson, AZ

I think many people think of cacti as icons, something made for us to look at, but since we rarely use cacti for anything and because their fleshy shapes and lifestyles are so different we think of them more as lampposts than integrated into our landscapes as much as the grasses, forbs, and trees. But without cacti entire worlds would disappear. Here is but one example, Diadasia rinconis, a common species that aggregates its nests in desert areas into colonies. The equally fuzzy females (this is a male) gather cactus pollen to feed their young. No cactus...no D. rinconis. Collected by Don Harvey photographed by Joaquin Mogollon. 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.