Euryglossina, u, australia, side

Euryglossina leyburnensis, Cylidrical Perplexing Bee, collected in AustraliaDoes this look like a bee? Not really, and indeed the Cylindrical Perplexing Bee has fooled many a melittologist (the self-proclaimed name for those of us who instead of becoming plumbers or presidents took up the study of bees). Why does it look so different? First, it nests in small holes in wood that have been made by beetles. The wood is hard enough that there is no "give" to the sides of the burrow so the bee has to fit in, which is made easier by its narrow cylindrical body shape. Second, it is very small. Third, it is in one of the groups of bees that transport food back to the nest inside their digestive system so it does not need the specialized scopal hairs other bees use to carry pollen and thus it has an almost bald non-bee like appearance. Nature has a sense of humor, just as melittologists do. 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.