All Multimedia

Megachile inermis - A large female leaf cutter from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. So many species out there, it just goes on and on. Picture taken by Sierra Williams, photoshopping by Elizabeth Garcia.

A lover of yellow composites. Sunflowers and things that look like sunflowers. Megachile inimica is a big leaf cutter, quite hunky really, a bee's bee. This is a male and was collected at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.

A lover of yellow composites. Sunflowers and things that look like sunflowers. Megachile inimica is a big leaf cutter, quite hunky really, a bee's bee. This is a male and was collected at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.

A lover of yellow composites. Sunflowers and things that look like sunflowers. Megachile inimica is a big leaf cutter, quite hunky really, a bee's bee. This is a male and was collected at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.

Anne Arundel County, Megachile inimica, From a Sand Pit along the Patuxent River

Anne Arundel County, Megachile inimica, From a Sand Pit along the Patuxent River

Anne Arundel County, Megachile inimica, From a Sand Pit along the Patuxent River

Megachile integra is one of a small clade of Megachile and Trachusa that need small viney things in the pea family (fuzzy beans and milk peas) to feed their babies.

Megachile integra is one of a small clade of Megachile and Trachusa that need small viney things in the pea family (fuzzy beans and milk peas) to feed their babies.

Megachile integra is one of a small clade of Megachile and Trachusa that need small viney things in the pea family (fuzzy beans and milk peas) to feed their babies.

Collected by Heather Campbell, from the Sandhills of North Carolina. Photograph by Wayne Boo.Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

Darn it. As I was loading this picture I realized that we already had a picture of this very same uncommon specimen...That said, I like this shot better, additionally Wayne Boo, the photographer in this case did not cut the edge of the wing off as in the other one.

Guantánamo Bay Cuba is not widely known for its bee fauna. But it should be. Sean Brady and I collected there for a number of years and we were able to obtain over one third of all the known bees from Cuba, including several new species. The species here, Megachile lanata, is not a new species and in fact is found throughout the world as a tramp.

Megachile lanata, female, GTMO, Cuba, A species originally from Africa, but now present in many of the tropical parts of the world

From Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan comes one our largest Megachilids. Photograph by Brooke Alexander 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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

One of the largest leaf cutting bees, this one was captured in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, photograph by Colby Francoeur.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, link to a .pdf of our set up is located in our profile

A common and large northern leafcutting bee. Nice orange scopal (pollen carrying ) hairs on the undercarriage and some interesting teeth patterns on the mandible, make this a relatively recognizable bee. This bad girl is from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. Photographed by Colby Francouer ..shopped by Elizabeth Garcia.

A common and large leafcutting bee from Maine, collected by Brianne Du Clos. This is a male and note the large expanded tarsal segments on the front legs. These are used to hide the females eyes during mating. Dejen Mengis is the photographer.

A common and large leafcutting bee from Maine, collected by Brianne Du Clos. This is a male and note the large expanded tarsal segments on the front legs. These are used to hide the females eyes during mating. Dejen Mengis is the photographer.

A common and large leafcutting bee from Maine, collected by Brianne Du Clos. This is a male and note the large expanded tarsal segments on the front legs. These are used to hide the females eyes during mating. Dejen Mengis is the photographer and Elizabeth Garcia did the shopping.

Male Tools. Check out the bright white expanded tarsal segments on this very large leaf cutting bee. These mods are used to cover the female's eyes during mating. Collected during a gathering of bee heads as part of the Adirondack Mountains ATBI BioBlitz this past week.