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I like this particular view of the underside of this bee. The black hairs are characteristic of the species, but it is also an oddly appealing picture in its aspect and layout, at least to me.Megachile apicalis - Invasive species: Specialist on knapweeds: Not common unless you haunt industrial and other wastelands where it can be common.

From Alleghany County in western Maryland in the town of Cumberland down along the Railroad tracks, which is a go to collecting spot for me, since there are almost always tall weeds with bees on them. One wishes that other people did the same things with native meadow plants along roads and yards instead of just mowing them to pieces all the time.

Megachile aramaticeps, female, GTMO, Cuba Naval Base

A trinomial: Megachile brevis onobrychidis. Thus it is a declaired subspecies of M. brevis of which there have been several and at least one has turned into a species. Since the distribution of M.

A trinomial: Megachile brevis onobrychidis. Thus it is a declaired subspecies of M. brevis of which there have been several and at least one has turned into a species. Since the distribution of M.

A trinomial: Megachile brevis onobrychidis. Thus it is a declaired subspecies of M. brevis of which there have been several and at least one has turned into a species. Since the distribution of M.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee - A leaf cutting bee, common throughout much of North America

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee - A leaf cutting bee, common throughout much of North America

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee - A leaf cutting bee, common throughout much of North America

One of the most common of the Mid-Atlantic leaf-cutters. Another early work of ours that we are just pushing out to clear some backlog. Who picks these specimens anyway...that pin is placed terribly. Photograph by Brooke Alexander and Shopped by Elizabeth Garcia.

I like looking at this shot, the symmetry, this alien being, this unknowable insect, there is something alive, even relatable here. This one is worth looking at full-screen. What if, indeed, this Megachile brevis, was as large as a puppy dog, would we treat it the same as we do now?

A pair of head shots...including the rarely seen underside of a bee head. The species: Megachile campanulae. From: Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Status common and regular if you swing a net in the summer. Megachile always have lovely omatidia (those lovely hex things on the compound eyes).

A pair of head shots...including the rarely seen underside of a bee head. The species: Megachile campanulae. From: Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Status common and regular if you swing a net in the summer. Megachile always have lovely omatidia (those lovely hex things on the compound eyes).

From the Adirondacks of New York comes Megachile centuncularis. Sadly, it is an invasive species that can be quite common in northern cities across the U.S. as well as throughout the northern part of the globe. Maybe that is why it is so successful, it likes our holes.

From the Adirondacks of New York comes Megachile centuncularis. Sadly, it is an invasive species that can be quite common in northern cities across the U.S. as well as throughout the northern part of the globe. Maybe that is why it is so successful, it likes our holes.

Not originating from here. This is Megachile centuncularis, from studies by MaLisa Spring in Cleveland. Cleveland and other large cities house more than their share of non-native species largely or likely because of the presence of so many non-native weeds and garden introductions.

Not originating from here. This is Megachile centuncularis, from studies by MaLisa Spring in Cleveland. Cleveland and other large cities house more than their share of non-native species largely or likely because of the presence of so many non-native weeds and garden introductions.

We almost never show the undercarriage of a bee....but, here you go. A Megachile from Morocco that is in the Chalicodoma subgenus, group, or sometimes full blown genus depending upon your taxonomic proclivities.

A Megachile from Morocco that is in the Chalicodoma subgenus, group, or sometimes full blown genus depending upon your taxonomic proclivities. Characteristically the females do not cut leaves to line the nests but use resin or mud and thus do not have the scissors-like cutting edges on their mandibles. This nicely arrayed species is from Iran.

A Megachile from Morocco that is in the Chalicodoma subgenus, group, or sometimes full blown genus depending upon your taxonomic proclivities. Characteristically the females do not cut leaves to line the nests but use resin or mud and thus do not have the scissors-like cutting edges on their mandibles. This nicely arrayed species is from Iran.

Hawaii was colonized once by a single species of Masked Bee (Hylaeus), and evolved and split into dozens of species. Subsequent to Polynesian and European colonization a steady progression of non-native plants and bees have invaded.