Images

Another uncommon Andrena bee in the subgenus Trachandrena, this one seems to favor wooded areas. Formerly little known in the state, it is now recorded in 11 counties. Photography by Hannah Sutton.

A larger Andrena...about the size of a honey bee. A spring forager, not well studied, but shows up here and there throughout much of the deciduous forest landscape of the East south of New England. Photo by Kamren Jefferson.

Yet another! Large Melandrena species from the Eastern United States. The males are particularly difficult to tell apart. This one come from the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina.

Andrena hippotes is another Andrena in the Tracandrena subgenus. It does have the distinctive feature, at least in the East, of having orange legs, which helped separated out from the other Tracandrena species. However, like many of these colorations and markings in bees, it is likely to sometimes not be there.

Pennington County, South Dakota, Badlands National Park

Photo by Brooke Alexander.

Pennington County, South Dakota, Badlands National Park

Yellow Bee: Yellow Pollen : Andrena hirticincta : Maine : Agriculture field edges. This is a fall bee, a bee of goldenrod and aster. How nice. Collected By Brianne Du Clos and photographed by Dejen Mengis.

Yellow Bee: Yellow Pollen : Andrena hirticincta : Maine : Agriculture field edges. This is a fall bee, a bee of goldenrod and aster. How nice. Collected By Brianne Du Clos and photographed by Dejen Mengis.

Yellow Bee: Yellow Pollen : Andrena hirticincta : Maine : Agriculture field edges. This is a fall bee, a bee of goldenrod and aster. How nice. Collected By Brianne Du Clos and photographed by Dejen Mengis.

Andrena hybrida: A small bee from the Grecian Isles, ...interesting in that unlike the hundreds of others of its Andrena kinfolk, rather than appearing all black has the size, shape, and coloration of a several species of cleptoparasitic bees who have red abdomens. Why is that?

Andrena hybrida: A small bee from the Grecian Isles, ...interesting in that unlike the hundreds of others of its Andrena kinfolk, rather than appearing all black has the size, shape, and coloration of a several species of cleptoparasitic bees who have red abdomens. Why is that?

Andrena hybrida: A small bee from the Grecian Isles, ...interesting in that unlike the hundreds of others of its Andrena kinfolk, rather than appearing all black has the size, shape, and coloration of a several species of cleptoparasitic bees who have red abdomens. Why is that?

Andrena ilicis. A bit of a mystery bee. It seems to be associated with Woodlands, but other than that I don't have much of a feel for the species. This one was collected in Somerset County Maryland.

Andrena ilicis. A bit of a mystery bee. It seems to be associated with Woodlands, but other than that I don't have much of a feel for the species. This one was collected in Somerset County Maryland.

From malaise traps set in the woodland bottomlands of the Patuxent River comes the uncommonly detected Andrena illicis. Here is a male with its notable orangish legs.

From malaise traps set in the woodland bottomlands of the Patuxent River comes the uncommonly detected Andrena illicis. Here is a male with its notable orangish legs.

From malaise traps set in the woodland bottomlands of the Patuxent River comes the uncommonly detected Andrena illicis. Here is a male with its notable orangish legs.

Andrena illini, A rather large, spring bee, I associate this one with Woodlands and the edge of Woodlands, where found them feeding on blackberries in particular. This one was collected in Somerset County by Timothy McMahon. Photograph by Hannah Sutton.

Andrena Illini. Named after the University of Illinois football team by Wally LaBerge. While he was one of the great taxonomy experts that we recently lost. He was a specialist in Andrena and Melissodes and dabbled in several other genera of bees.

Andrena illini, A rather large, spring bee, I associate this one with Woodlands and the edge of Woodlands, where found them feeding on blackberries in particular. This one was collected in Somerset County by Timothy McMahon. Photograph by Hannah Sutton.