#droege

[usgsbiml]

Carrying on from the recent posts of Lithurgus chrysurus, here is another European bee that specializes on Knapweed.  

This specimen from the West Coast, but it occurs throughout North America.  Photo by Anders Croft.    This bee was collected in the California Central Valley him in Yolo County for research on small-scale restoration in agricultural areas. Claire Kremen's 10-year study of hedgerows shows the benefits of planting native shrubs and forbs in agricultural areas for native bees. To learn more about the Kremen Lab and hedgerows, see <a href="https://nature.berkeley.edu/kremenlab/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">nature.berkeley.edu/kremenlab/</a>

[artfromthefuture]

Homopteran of some kind_2018-06-20-09.07.35 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab Via Flickr: Random Homopteran. Prpobably taken with out 10x modified lens. No notes, darn it.

[annadroege]

by anna droege Winter 2017

[usgsbiml]

Bee biologists all struggle with identifying what they catch. Its irritating that, even under a microscope, it is difficult to tell many species apart. Here is an example...but it does have a "tell." 

Megachile pseudobrevis has extensive black hairs at the tip of the underside of the abdomen while M. brevis has almost entirely white hairs. There you go. This specimen from Georgia. This shot by Kamren Jefferson.

[usgsbiml]

If you were in the Badlands of South Dakota in the Summer, and were paying attention to your bumblebees, you would see this one.  

Bombus nevadensis.  

It is big and the queens are extra beefy.  This is one of the dark bumbles.  More black on the sides of the body and tinted wings.   Bug-wise, it doesn't really get a lot heaftier than this in the North American world.  There are some big beetles but they don't gaily fly around gathering pollen...pretty amazing you big ol' bumbly bee (wow, did I just say that? I will have to watch it or my pontificatory science license will get revoked).Photo by Kelly Graninger.

[usgsbiml]

A lovely reddish haired carpenter bee from Kruger National Park.  Picture by Erick Hernandez.

[usgsbiml]

Aptly named:  Lasioglossum coeruleum.  

Most of the many confusing members of these small sweat bees glimmer discretely in metallic integument, but our friend here takes it up a notch to and Osmia level.  

This makes them identifiable...except for the problem that some of them are not so bright...irritating if you have to identify them...but once you get the pattern you feel a small sense of superiority to those in power in the world who clearly would fail if you asked them to identify an "off" L. coeruleum specimen. So there.  Specimen collected by Michael Veit in transmission lines in CT...

[usgsbiml]

Number 16.  THE CAMPAIGN TO KNOW YOUR WILD BEES.

In a rough world where you can be eaten at any moment.  There is usefulness in being able to make self-supporting capsules for your babies with enough food and liquid to last a year.