Lithurgopsis gibbosus, M, Side, GA, Baker County

The male of the female Lithurgopsis gibbosus already presented on this site. An uncommon species compared to its sister genus Megachile, it is often overlooked because of the superficial similarities. In this the male separation of the genera largely comes down to the lack of a little pad between the claws of the feet along with the 3 toothed mandible tips with the central tooth being the longest. Recently split from the Eastern Hemisphere genus Lithurgus in the new world is largely, if not entirely, does its pollen shopping on cactus blossoms. Collected by Sabrie Breland and photographed 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.