Hoplitis albifrons, m, left, Mariposa, CA

The male of Hoplitis albifrons, a common northern and western mountain species. Relatively large, almost the size of a honey bee at least in length. Found in Yosemite National park and collected for a project done by Lauren Ponisio examining the effect of fire diversity on bees (Ponisio et al. Gloebal Change Biol. 2016). Photograph by Samia Shell. 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.