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Explore our planet through photography and imagery, including climate change and water all the way back to the 1800s when the USGS was surveying the country by horse and buggy.

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xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, side
xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, side
xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, side

Ahhhhhh, the beauty of the wings of Carpenter Bees, this lovely specimen from Thailand, found lounging around the Packer Lab, Trivia = Carpenter Bees lay the world's largest insect eggs.

Ahhhhhh, the beauty of the wings of Carpenter Bees, this lovely specimen from Thailand, found lounging around the Packer Lab, Trivia = Carpenter Bees lay the world's largest insect eggs.

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xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, wing
xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, wing
xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, wing

Ahhhhhh, the beauty of the wings of Carpenter Bees, this lovely specimen from Thailand, found lounging around the Packer Lab, Trivia = Carpenter Bees lay the world's largest insect eggs.

Ahhhhhh, the beauty of the wings of Carpenter Bees, this lovely specimen from Thailand, found lounging around the Packer Lab, Trivia = Carpenter Bees lay the world's largest insect eggs.

close up of image
xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, wing2
xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, wing2
xylocopa pop green, f,thailand, wing2

Ahhhhhh, the beauty of the wings of Carpenter Bees, this lovely specimen from Thailand, found lounging around the Packer Lab, Trivia = Carpenter Bees lay the world's largest insect eggs.

Ahhhhhh, the beauty of the wings of Carpenter Bees, this lovely specimen from Thailand, found lounging around the Packer Lab, Trivia = Carpenter Bees lay the world's largest insect eggs.

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Xylocopa species, m, australia face
Xylocopa species, m, australia face
Xylocopa species, m, australia face

Here is a carpenter bee species from Australia that has a very different look and feel from our North American species. Very likely in a different subfamily but taxonomically and morphologically there must be great similarities to keep them within the same genus.

Here is a carpenter bee species from Australia that has a very different look and feel from our North American species. Very likely in a different subfamily but taxonomically and morphologically there must be great similarities to keep them within the same genus.

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Xylocopa viginica, f, back, Prince George's Co, MD
Xylocopa viginica, f, back, Prince George's Co, MD
Xylocopa viginica, f, back, Prince George's Co, MD

The Virginia Carpenter bee. The bane of those who build with Cedar Siding, have redwood picnic tables, or who have barns made with softwoods. Other than the recently invaded Lithurgus chrysurus (we certainly will hear more about this wood eater in coming years), this is our only bee int he East that regularly makes holes in wooden structures.

The Virginia Carpenter bee. The bane of those who build with Cedar Siding, have redwood picnic tables, or who have barns made with softwoods. Other than the recently invaded Lithurgus chrysurus (we certainly will hear more about this wood eater in coming years), this is our only bee int he East that regularly makes holes in wooden structures.

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Xylocopa viginica, f, face, Prince George's Co, MD
Xylocopa viginica, f, face, Prince George's Co, MD
Xylocopa viginica, f, face, Prince George's Co, MD

The Virginia Carpenter bee. The bane of those who build with Cedar Siding, have redwood picnic tables, or who have barns made with softwoods. Other than the recently invaded Lithurgus chrysurus (we certainly will hear more about this wood eater in coming years), this is our only bee int he East that regularly makes holes in wooden structures.

The Virginia Carpenter bee. The bane of those who build with Cedar Siding, have redwood picnic tables, or who have barns made with softwoods. Other than the recently invaded Lithurgus chrysurus (we certainly will hear more about this wood eater in coming years), this is our only bee int he East that regularly makes holes in wooden structures.

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Xylocopa viginica, f, side, Prince George's Co, MD
Xylocopa viginica, f, side, Prince George's Co, MD
Xylocopa viginica, f, side, Prince George's Co, MD

The Virginia Carpenter bee. The bane of those who build with Cedar Siding, have redwood picnic tables, or who have barns made with softwoods. Other than the recently invaded Lithurgus chrysurus (we certainly will hear more about this wood eater in coming years), this is our only bee int he East that regularly makes holes in wooden structures.

The Virginia Carpenter bee. The bane of those who build with Cedar Siding, have redwood picnic tables, or who have barns made with softwoods. Other than the recently invaded Lithurgus chrysurus (we certainly will hear more about this wood eater in coming years), this is our only bee int he East that regularly makes holes in wooden structures.

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Xylocopa virginica, m, face, talbot, md
Xylocopa virginica, m, face, talbot, md
Xylocopa virginica, m, face, talbot, md

Giant Flying Eye - The male of Xylocopa virginica or Virginia Carpenter Bee. Any bee with this much "eye" is clearly doing something different visually. In this case the males are guarding nesting territories and the associated females and their young and defending them from other males.

Giant Flying Eye - The male of Xylocopa virginica or Virginia Carpenter Bee. Any bee with this much "eye" is clearly doing something different visually. In this case the males are guarding nesting territories and the associated females and their young and defending them from other males.

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Xylocopa-sonorina,-back
Xylocopa-sonorina,-back
Xylocopa-sonorina,-back

Xylocopa sonorina, Female, March 2012, Hawaii, Oahu

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Yellow wasp, m, back, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga
Yellow wasp, m, back, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga
Yellow wasp, m, back, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga

Vespid wasp from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is one that we see periodically taking nips of nectar from some of the trees we study. No time to look up the species group, but likely it a social species of some kind. Large too, about the size of a bumblebee in length..,Photo by Erick Hernandez.

Vespid wasp from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is one that we see periodically taking nips of nectar from some of the trees we study. No time to look up the species group, but likely it a social species of some kind. Large too, about the size of a bumblebee in length..,Photo by Erick Hernandez.

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Yellow wasp, m, face, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga
Yellow wasp, m, face, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga
Yellow wasp, m, face, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga

Vespid wasp from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is one that we see periodically taking nips of nectar from some of the trees we study. No time to look up the species group, but likely it a social species of some kind. Large too, about the size of a bumblebee in length..,Photo by Erick Hernandez.

Vespid wasp from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is one that we see periodically taking nips of nectar from some of the trees we study. No time to look up the species group, but likely it a social species of some kind. Large too, about the size of a bumblebee in length..,Photo by Erick Hernandez.

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Yellow wasp, m, left, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga
Yellow wasp, m, left, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga
Yellow wasp, m, left, Kruger National Park, South Africa Mpumalanga

Vespid wasp from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is one that we see periodically taking nips of nectar from some of the trees we study. No time to look up the species group, but likely it a social species of some kind. Large too, about the size of a bumblebee in length..,Photo by Erick Hernandez.

Vespid wasp from Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is one that we see periodically taking nips of nectar from some of the trees we study. No time to look up the species group, but likely it a social species of some kind. Large too, about the size of a bumblebee in length..,Photo by Erick Hernandez.

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Yellow-Fox-Tail-dew
Yellow-Fox-Tail-dew
Yellow-Fox-Tail-dew

Setaria glauca, Yellow Foxtail, Beltsville, Maryland with dew, August 2012

Setaria glauca, Yellow Foxtail, Beltsville, Maryland with dew, August 2012

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Yellow-shafted Flicker 1, U, Breast feather, black and white DC
Yellow-shafted Flicker 1, U, Breast feather, black and white DC
Yellow-shafted Flicker 1, U, Breast feather, black and white DC

A black and white version of the previous picture...can't decide if I should have left that straying barb on the left in there or not...it adds a lot of tension to the picture...perhaps too much.

A black and white version of the previous picture...can't decide if I should have left that straying barb on the left in there or not...it adds a lot of tension to the picture...perhaps too much.

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Yellow-shafted Flicker 1, U, Breast feather, Washington DC
Yellow-shafted Flicker 1, U, Breast feather, Washington DC
Yellow-shafted Flicker 1, U, Breast feather, Washington DC

Yellow-shafted Flicker, Breast Feather, in original colors with hints of brown/tan in some of the basal barbs, From a specimen picked up on the streets, by the group "Lights out DC" of Washington DC in 2012 after striking a building

Yellow-shafted Flicker, Breast Feather, in original colors with hints of brown/tan in some of the basal barbs, From a specimen picked up on the streets, by the group "Lights out DC" of Washington DC in 2012 after striking a building

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Yellow-sow-Thistle
Yellow-sow-Thistle
Yellow-sow-Thistle

Sonchus species, Beltsville, Maryland, August 2012

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Yellowbug cuvette, U, face, Dominican Republic
Yellowbug cuvette, U, face, Dominican Republic
Yellowbug cuvette, U, face, Dominican Republic

Membracid from Dominican Republic floating in hand sanitizer in a quartz cuvette

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Yellowjacket, Back, MD, Talbot County
Yellowjacket, Back, MD, Talbot County
Yellowjacket, Back, MD, Talbot County

Vespula squamosa - The Southern Yellow Jacket....the two yellow racing stripes on the top of the thorax (scutum) are diagnostic in the SE U.S. Collected by Tim McMahon from Talbot County, Maryland

Vespula squamosa - The Southern Yellow Jacket....the two yellow racing stripes on the top of the thorax (scutum) are diagnostic in the SE U.S. Collected by Tim McMahon from Talbot County, Maryland

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Yellowjacket, Head, MD, Talbot County
Yellowjacket, Head, MD, Talbot County
Yellowjacket, Head, MD, Talbot County

Vespula squamosa - The Southern Yellow Jacket....the two yellow racing stripes on the top of the thorax (scutum) are diagnostic in the SE U.S. Collected by Tim McMahon from Talbot County, Maryland, Notice the notched compound eyes characteristic of most vespids.

Vespula squamosa - The Southern Yellow Jacket....the two yellow racing stripes on the top of the thorax (scutum) are diagnostic in the SE U.S. Collected by Tim McMahon from Talbot County, Maryland, Notice the notched compound eyes characteristic of most vespids.

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Yellowjacket, Side, MD, Talbot County
Yellowjacket, Side, MD, Talbot County
Yellowjacket, Side, MD, Talbot County

Vespula squamosa - The Southern Yellow Jacket....the two yellow racing stripes on the top of the thorax (scutum) are diagnostic in the SE U.S. Collected by Tim McMahon from Talbot County, Maryland

Vespula squamosa - The Southern Yellow Jacket....the two yellow racing stripes on the top of the thorax (scutum) are diagnostic in the SE U.S. Collected by Tim McMahon from Talbot County, Maryland