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Meganomia sp, m, south africa, side

Detailed Description

Meganomia binghami, Bingham 's Giant, collected in South Africa by Bryan DanforthMales of many species of bee have various modifications that are not found in the females and are presumably sexually selected "“ they arose because the females preferred males with, rather than those without, these strange features. Bingham 's Giant, like its close relatives, has males with numerous exorbitant modifications of the legs and underside "“ the parts that will be in contact with the female during mating. There are strange protrusions on the legs and undersurface of the thorax as well as additional processes on the abdomen. This species also has a transverse comb of stiff black bristles on the abdomen, perhaps the female likes to have her hair brushed during mating .Bingham 's Giant is one of a small number of very large bees restricted to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. All of them have dramatic yellow and black patterns. 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.

Sources/Usage

Public Domain.