Panurginus atramontensis, m, back, Prince George's Co, MD

An Uncommon (or is it?) Deerberry specialist. If you don't collect bees on Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) you will never see this bee (Panurginus atramontensis). It only gathers pollen and probably almost all of its nectar from this plant. This plant is around, but often subsumed in the understory of acidic woodlands in the East and blooms only for a few weeks....and this bee is only out for a few weeks. While there are very few records, we have found locations where there are literally 100's of nests. So, plant a deerberry patch and then give it a watch...who knows, you may also get Melitta eickworti...another Deerberry specialist. Photos by Brooke Goggins. 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.