Images

Perdita latior, male, Arizona Petrified Forest National Park

A wee 2mm Perilampid from Hart-Miller Island collected by Gene Scarpulla and awaiting final determination.

A wee 2mm Perilampid from Hart-Miller Island in the Chesapeake Bay collected by Gene Scarpulla and awaiting final deterimination.

More cute cockroach pictures..American Cockroach, Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 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

The smiling face of an American Cockroach...if you get over your pre-consieved notions, these are really pretty handsome insects and most people would not recognize them if they saw this picture.

Bittacomorpha clavipes - Here is a 10x shot of this lovely flies face, collected in my back yard in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Seems to have a very odd tongue.

I will have to look up the location back at the lab, but it came from one of the eastern forest service glycol traps...one of the glowworm species

Phenacolletes mimus, Australian Shorthair, specimen collected by Laurence Packer in AustraliaIn the dry, sparsely populated portions of Western Australia one can find the Australian Shorthair. While it is a pollen collecting bee, it has very short hairs, making it similar to some of the short, thick bodied waspy relatives of bees.

Phenacolletes mimus, Australian Shorthair, specimen collected by Laurence Packer in AustraliaIn the dry, sparsely populated portions of Western Australia one can find the Australian Shorthair. While it is a pollen collecting bee, it has very short hairs, making it similar to some of the short, thick bodied waspy relatives of bees.

Phenacolletes mimus, Australian Shorthair, specimen collected by Laurence Packer in AustraliaIn the dry, sparsely populated portions of Western Australia one can find the Australian Shorthair. While it is a pollen collecting bee, it has very short hairs, making it similar to some of the short, thick bodied waspy relatives of bees.

Philanthus gibbosus, female, Anne Arundel County, Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge, Maryland, July 2012, Determination by Matthias Buck

Philanthus gibbosus, female, Anne Arundel County, Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge, Maryland, July 2012 Determination by Matthias Buck

In real life this huge fulgorid (Phrictus diadema)is even more spectacular, this is an old to ancient specimen at the Smithsonian that I shot to test out my photography set up ...still rather magnificently scary looking, even if rather dirty and faded.

Another dragon fulgorid from the Smithsonian collection. All of these are old and covered with dust and lint from their years traveling to the museum, still a spectacular creature. 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.

Back to posting ancient fulgorid specimens from the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian. This one, Phrictus ocellatus, is similarly filthy, but cleaned up fairly well for its age...hope to one day take some fresh specimens.

The June Bug, whose babies are some of the white grubs you with you wouldn't find in your garden, but at least they are native and you should really share your world.....

Dragonette. My competitor. AKA the Jagged Ambush Bug. These flower dragons tuck into flowers and jump on the bees (an other insects) that I study, injects them, liquefies their insides, and sucks them out, just like some people do emotionally to others. Rugged.

Dragonette. My competitor. AKA the Jagged Ambush Bug. These flower dragons tuck into flowers and jump on the bees (an other insects) that I study, injects them, liquefies their insides, and sucks them out, just like some people do emotionally to others. Rugged.

Ninebark. A lovely native shrub, that should be planted more often where there is a need for a large shrub. Grows well, is tough, handles drought, and it attracts pollinators. Photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Ninebark. A lovely native shrub, that should be planted more often where there is a need for a large shrub. Grows well, is tough, handles drought, and it attracts pollinators. Photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

If you are a bumble bee (how fascinating if you were...) this fly would be your worst nightmare. You be flying along, warmed by the sun as you joyfully gathered pollen and nectar from flowers, then Wham, this fly, about half your size, would latch onto you and with the tip of its abdomen force itself between your abdominal segments and insert its egg.