usinterior photos on Flickr

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Hoplitis spoliata, f, face, Kent County MD_2019-03-22-00.33.28 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

17 4

A large Hoplitis, that occurs throughout most of North America East of the Rockies. Occurs in low numbers at most locations, in the Mid-Atlantic is is a June bee and associated with what would appear to be mostly Woody blooming plants. Something to consider in your planting pollinator plans... don't forget the blooming shrubs and small trees. Photo by Brooke Goggins.

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All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Andrena subopaca, f, right, Plavecky Mikulas, Slovakia_2019-12-16-20.42.52 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

17 3

More Slovakian bees. This is Andrena subopaca, collected in Plavecký Mikuláš by Peter Šima in a forest clearing in June. I note that this species occurs across the Eurasian supercontinent and that's about it for my understanding of this Mining Bee. Lovely pastel wing shimmer. Photograph by Cole Cheng.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Torymus species, (parasite wasp), f, face, Alleghany Co. MD_2019-10-24-16.43.03 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

20 1

Ah, how lovely small things can be. Here is a Torymus species (thanks Matt Buffington for the looky id while you were in the lab). Often parasitizing gall forming wasps, you can see from its ovipositer that something interesting is happening out there in nature land. This one was collected on Will's Mountain in Maryland...most likely by Francis Mullan while on one of our expeditions. Photo by Cole Cheng.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Lasioglossum tarponense, F, face, Florida, St Johns County_2013-03-04-18.12.59 ZS PMax by USGS Bee Lab

22 3

Darn are we behind...this one was made in 2013 and depicts a Lasioglossum tarponense from one of the National Park Service Units we surveyed in St. John's County in Florida. Its a Deep South, Deep Sand species. Often found on the coast, but usually not right in the dunes. Note the unusually red orange legs. A nice feature for this species as it eliminates about 95% of all the other Lasioglossum species that are about that size and shape. It would be nice to spend a day hanging out with these bees and getting to know what they do. Natural history like this is so simple, but somehow it is never done, the notion of simply watching a bee all day is not nearly as attractive as watching TV all day. Odd.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

It’s one of those perfect days at #Glacier National Park in #Montana. Sigh. Photo of @glaciernps’s Wild Goose Island by #NationalPark Service. by Mark McNeely

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Hawaii Sunrise by Aaron Rigsby

13

Its moments like this. That make me realize how small my problems and I really are.

by usinterior ift.tt/1FSwy7i

Passiflora incarnata, Passionflower, Howard County, Md., Helen Lowe Metzman_2019-10-23-19.36.09 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

18 3

The Carpenter bee flower. This is one of the passion flowers, Passiflora incarnata, designed to be pollinated by Carpenter bees which fit right in and are daubed by pollen (note the stigmas are those large white things ABOVE the stamens). Since each vine is self incompatible they have to get it right. Flower and photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

green fl leafhopper_2020-08-28-10.59.33 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

18 1

Stirellus bicolor - Bluestem sucker. Leafhoppers can be picky. Some suck sap from almost anything, others, like our gold and purple friend here stick with one group. Lots of them are grass specialists, eastern grasses have loads of leafhoppers and often dominant counts of the things that hang around plants above ground (you know those things...). Oh, and they range from pretty to beautiful, lots of designers could take a lesson. Check the 150 some species most with pictures on the Maryland Biodiversity site. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

www.amazon.com/Bees-Up-Close-Pollinators-Around-World/dp/...

Art Photo Book: Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World:

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Bombus variabilis, m, back, St. Mary's Co, MD_2019-03-23-13.31.17 ZS PMax UDR-Recovered by USGS Bee Lab

20 2

Collateral Damage - Bombus variabilis is a bee that parasitizes B. pensylvanicus. Its darn hard to find anymore and it is possible there are no recent records at all (I haven't checked). This is the one and only specimen (from the 70s ) from Maryland. B. pensylvanicus went through a crunch a while back and populations dropped. The actual extent of drop and recovery (or not) is unknown, but they are around enough that they are common in my backyard in Maryland (why? Because it is full of big composites like thistle). So, has B. variabilis to be never seen again? Hard to say since it wasn't common to begin with and may have been (probably) been wacked by the same bad pathogens as its hosts, but then again, many uncommon bees are hiding in plain sight as there are few people looking. So, I am going to put a bet out that this species isn't gone, but am not going to be putting out that much money on it. Photo by Brooke Goggins.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Dianthidium simile, m, left, Caroline Co., VA_2018-06-19-20.40.09 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

21 1

A new state record for Virginia. This is Dianthidium simile. A sand lover and found for the first time by the folks in Virginia Heritage Group. I believe it was found on Fort A.P Hill Army base. Military Bases are often great places for insects given that they are usually found on "bad" land not used for agriculture, don't build on every square inch, and continue to train and disturb that areas without plowing them completely up. Case in point here.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Joshua Tree Sunset by Brian Stowell / IG: @brianstowell

47 4

Sunset at Joshua Tree National Park back in March

Let's be friends!

Instagram: @brianstowell

Tumblr: @brianstowell

Facebook: /brianstowellphoto

500px: /brianstowell

Edamame, top shot_2020-07-28-15.17.58 ZS by USGS Bee Lab

17

Edamame Soybean Blossoms (Fact: Glycine max is the scientific name of all soybeans). This variety is used fresh unlike most soybeans and is being studied by Katy Evans at the University of Maryland to look at the relationship between flowering, pollination, yield, and the visitation by pollinators such as bees. Turns out that while soybeans are self-pollinating their yield increases when bees visit them. Since there are a lot of soybeans in the world that means a lot of bees are potentially involved and both could help increase yield and feed the world or get hammered if pesticide applications are ill-timed (and there is nothing like and ill-timed pesticide people to ruin your day if you are a bee.) Photo by Anders Croft.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Neonympha mitchelli francisci, side closeup, reared_2019-08-07-17.32.16 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

23 2

St. Francis's Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli francisci). Only found in North Carolina and only found on Ft. Bragg. Feeds on grasses and sedges in wetlands along streams, most of those wetlands created by beaver and periodic fires from Base activities. These specimens came from captive reared populations that USFWS and others are attempting to slowly create. Beaver, grasses, fire, wetlands....when we simplify our natural world to look only a few ways some species lose.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Sphecodes fattigi, f, face, Caroline Co., VA_2018-07-17-19.17.06 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

20 3

Red Butts. Red abdomens are not super common in the bee world BUT (so to speak) many of those with red abdomens are parasitic members of Sphecodes (fattigi in this picture) or Nomada in North America. On other continents, its other groups. This come from Fort A.P Hill, collected by Ellison Orcutt and company from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Anders Croft took these shots.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Passiflora incarnata 3, Passionflower, Howard County, Md., Helen Lowe Metzman_2019-10-23-19.32.28 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

19

The Carpenter bee flower. This is one of the passion flowers, Passiflora incarnata, designed to be pollinated by Carpenter bees which fit right in and are daubed by pollen (note the stigmas are those large white things ABOVE the stamens). Since each vine is self incompatible they have to get it right. Flower and photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Diadasia diminuta, m, face, Jackson Co., SD_2018-08-10-18.01.38 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

22 2

Small Fuzzy Diadaasia diminuta. This little fur ball, is a globe mallow specialist. I am too tired after trying to beat back invasives all day in the yard to say any more. A lovely day though all the bees finally are emerging, including my first queen bumbles. The little poofs are from Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Pictures taken by Kelly Graninger and Anders Croft.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Cephalanthus occidentalis 2, Buttonbush, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman_2018-07-13-18.34.54 ZS PMax UDR_1 by USGS Bee Lab

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

18 1

Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis. Likes its feet wet, bumper crops of bees (particularly Hylaeus) and butterflies. No specialists in the bee arena, but adds pollen and nectar in wetlands. Photo and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Milkweed seed photo stack 3_2020-02-28-13.20.21 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

18 1

Monarch Food Starter Package. The fairyesque seed of Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) the workhorse milkweed for Monarch caterpillar support (and bunches of other insect species that are not as charismatic .... at least to the general public). Photo by Cole Cheng. Seed from the Native Bee Lab's Monarch Support Area (This means we have fields that we mow only once a year in winter - not lawn/not forest = Monarchs)

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Panax quinquefolius, American Ginseng root, GFG, Howard County, Md_2019-03-22-15.09.11 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

17

Ginseng!. Panax quinquefolius. Here are roots and seed of this famous herbal. Picture and specimen from Helen Lowe Metzman.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Cephalanthus occidentalis, Buttonbush, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman_2018-07-13-18.38.33 ZS PMax UDR_1 by USGS Bee Lab

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

18 3

Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis. Likes its feet wet, bumper crops of bees (particularly Hylaeus) and butterflies. No specialists in the bee arena, but adds pollen and nectar in wetlands. Photo and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Anthophora walshii, f, left, Pennington Co., SD_2018-08-10-14.28.12 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

17 4

We go, once again, to one of my favorite parts of the world, the Badlands of South Dakota. Among several types of Anthophora exists a nicely woke-up white banded species called Anthophora walshii. This species has an interesting distribution, it is almost entirely found in the prairies bumping up to the western mountain ranges. But, this species also shows up in a few coastal islands, such as Martha's Vineyard, Long Island, and islands off of Rhode Island just to make us wonder whether there used to be more of these prairie bees around than we thought. And, whether we need to reconsider are often automatic action of planting trees on every piece of land that isn't in motion. Photographed by Anders Croft.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Apis mellifera and Verroa_2019-09-06-19.16.37 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

19 1

Varroa destructor!!!!! Here you have a honey bee and two mites upon that honey bee. Both are varroa mites, one by the leg is feeding on the bee and the other is hitching a ride after leaving another bee. This drama was provided by Krisztina Christmon at the University of Maryland where she studies the life history of mites and bees. We did a little back lit shot here, more to come.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Augochloropsis metallica, male, back, Talbot County, MD_2018-11-15-16.29.06 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

17 3

Now, here is Augochloropsis metallica metallica. See the previous post about A. m. fulgida for contrast. Note the generally darker blue and the fringe of stiff hairs along the edge of the abdomen.Brooke Googins is the photographer. This bee was collected on Plummer's Island as part of Gene Scarpulla's bee project in the Chesapeake Bay of Maryland. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Rhododendron periclymenoides, Pinxter Azalea, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman_2019-10-24-12.13.33 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Sunset from the Spit by Alan Troidl

4 2

Homer Spit

Homer, AK

18 1

Here is one of the native azaleas...with the lovely name Pinxter (Rhododendron periclymenoides). Note that most of the planted azaleas these days are not native and while they may or may not attract a few bumble bees and other species they are not nearly as excellent a species of plant to use as the Pinxter which has its own specialist bee, Andrena cornelli and is integrated into the surrounding natural world supporting many other insects and life forms that non-native azaleas do not, so, your choice, save the bees or not. Picture and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

usinterior (U.S. Department of the Interior)： Perched at the crest of the #Cascade Mountain Range in #Oregon is a one-of-a-kind landscape: #CraterLake #NationalPark. No place else in the world combines a deep, blue lake, sheer cliffs and picturesque islan by Leonardo Pérez

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

DSC_0411 by All About Light!

14 1

1

Lasioglossum nymphale, side_2012-07-31-17.30.41 ZS PMax by USGS Bee Lab

17 2

Lasioglossum nymphale, one of the most abundant bees in the world, but/and it is thus so only in places of deep sand. Buckets of this species can be collected in the dunes and deep sands of coastal ocean and gulf lands from New Jersey down and around to probably Texas (unclear...someone needs to work the coastal barrier islands). Often these environments have only a limited number of species present with uber dominance by little red butt L. nymphale. Go to the inner dunes for a bit and that can change quickly to a more mix of sandy loving bees with L. nymphale in the mix. Someone needs to grab our data (we have tons of that, to the tune of 7K+ specimens of L. nymphale) and tell that story. Photo by Sierra Williams.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Apocynum cannabinum 2, Hemp Dogbane, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman_2019-10-23-12.14.41 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Alaskan Summer in Black and White by Alan Troidl

6

Reflections Lake

Palmer, AK

Clouds and Mist - Alaskan Style by Alan Troidl

8

Redoubt Bay Lodge

Big River Lakes

Tyonek, AK

16 1

Indian Hemp/Dogbane - Apocynum cannabinum. Kin to milkweeds (indeed it has its cousin's nasty latex making it a very toxic salad green), but interestingly it does not have pollinia like milkweeds, but essentially sticky pollen, that gets glued to visitors. If I read things right the pollen is not used to feed baby bees (this needs to be verified) and it is mostly a nectar attraction game. In the google literature claims of attractiveness to bees is all over the map, some way it attracts a lot and others say it is mostly a moth/butterfly thing. I can tell from lots of field experience that there is often almost nothing on these plants and then BOOM bees all over the place. My impression is that it is more used when nothing better is blooming (sort of the Raman Noodle of the bee plant world). Good plant to stick in an established cool season field as it seems (like common milkweed) to be able to handle the competition. Photo and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Anthophora urbana, m, face. Yolo Co., CA_2019-03-21-22.37.59 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

18 3

Here is a series of males and females of Anthophora urbana from Yolo County, California. This bee was collected in the California Central Valley 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 nature.berkeley.edu/kremenlab/" Photos by Brooke Goggins

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Alaska Brown Bear 062716-0226-W.jpg by Rob Daugherty

1 1

I spent the summer in Lake Clark National Park as a Bear Guide, taking clients out daily to see some of Alaska's Majestic Bears and other amazing Wildlife and see some very Beautiful Scenery.

RobsWildlife.com

This trip made possible by TheVestGuy.com the Photo Vests and Bean Bags... used here are for trip were manufactured by TheVestGuy Custom made Gear for over 25 years - Lifetime Warranty

Lake Clark National Park

© 2015 RobsWildlife.com All Rights Reserved, Worldwide. Ask about Private Guided Wildlife Photo Tours to Yellowstone and Tetons - - - - - - - - - -My photos are posted for your enjoyment. Please don't use my photos in any way without permission.

Andrena polemonii, f, back, New Castle co., Delaware_2020-08-18-17.12.49 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

15

What we don't know...about Andrena polemonii. See this specimen? This came from the wonderful native plant center in northern Delaware called Mount Cuba. Matt Sarver found it doing surveys of bees and targetted the plants that had specialist bees known to associate with them. One of those plants is Polemonium reptans which is the host to the bee pictured. So no big deal that Matt found a bunch of the bees except for the fact that the nearest known record for that species was on the border of Ohio and WV. Does that mean they flew in from WV to visit Mt. Cuba? Almost certainly not, more likely than not there are pockets of A. polemonii between these two sites...just no one has looked. Photo by Anders Croft.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

usinterior (U.S. Department of the Interior)： One of the most photogenic places on earth, #GrandTeton #NationalPark in #Wyoming never disappoints. With a total height of over 13,000 feet, the mountains tower 7,000 feet over the #SnakeRiver Valley. Created by Leonardo Pérez

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Grand Canyon by Jessie Holmes DeNunzio

4 1

1

Transitions by Alan Troidl

4 1

Alaskan Range

Denali National Park and Preserve

Alaska

Milkweed seed photo stack 4_2020-02-28-13.26.11 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

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Monarch Food Starter Package. The fairyesque seed of Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) the workhorse milkweed for Monarch caterpillar support (and bunches of other insect species that are not as charismatic .... at least to the general public). Photo by Cole Cheng. Seed from the Native Bee Lab's Monarch Support Area (This means we have fields that we mow only once a year in winter - not lawn/not forest = Monarchs)

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Osmia illinoensis, m, right, Rockingham Co, VA_2019-03-21-21.48.55 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

17 1

Range Jumper. This range jumper jumped from Illinois to Virginia. There are no records in between. How odd....this is a rare bee in its limited range in the Midwest and to find it all the way in the Mountains of Virginia seems near fantastical, but there it is and more than one specimen too. Also interesting to note that all the other Osmia in the East range from Black to dark metallic blue...nothing like this green bling, so its not like it was overlooked by past bee workers.

The identification was confirmed by Molly Rightmyer. Good work Virginia Heritage People (Ellison Orcutt) who found this rare bee (as well as others) by starting to do surveys in the corners of the state. Photo by Brooke Goggins.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Bull & cow, Denali National Park #moose #lake #denali #nationalpark #denalinationalpark #denalinationalparkandpreserve @denalinps @usinterior #ig_great_pics #ig_captures #ig_unitedstates #ig_unitedstates_ #ig_alaska #alaska #ak #49thstate #wildlifephotogr by asa420

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Rhododendron periclymenoides 2, Pinxter Azalea, Howard County, Md, Helen Lowe Metzman_2019-10-24-12.10.08 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

16 1

Here is one of the native azaleas...with the lovely name Pinxter (Rhododendron periclymenoides). Note that most of the planted azaleas these days are not native and while they may or may not attract a few bumble bees and other species they are not nearly as excellent a species of plant to use as the Pinxter which has its own specialist bee, Andrena cornelli and is integrated into the surrounding natural world supporting many other insects and life forms that non-native azaleas do not, so, your choice, save the bees or not. Picture and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Tetraopes tetrophthalmus, left_2020-07-29-15.33.24 ZS by USGS Bee Lab

16 1

Red Milkweed Beetle. Found in the natural area slated for the proposed MAGLEV repair facility on public land in Beltsville, Maryland. Tetraopes tetrophthalmus. Lives on milkweed. You know the story. Bright red, lounges on top of the milkweed vine. If you eat me, you will regret it sort of thing. Photo by Anders Croft.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

www.flickr.com/photos/usinterior/49941783296/in/gallery-1...

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

Landmarks by GPA Photo Archive

13

Devils Tower National Monument

The stories of Devils Tower National Monument are as varied as the columns that form the massive monolith. The oldest stories are told by the rocks themselves, helping scientists unravel the geologic mystery of its formation. Others were passed down through American Indian culture. Sometimes called myths or legends, a more appropriate term would be oral histories, or in many cases, sacred narratives. Members of the Crow tribe tell the story of a group of girls attacked by a bear. They gathered together and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. Suddenly, the rocks grew up from the ground, saving the girls and forming the tower. The angry bear could only claw at the sides of the rock, leaving deep scratches. That explains why it is called "Bear's Tipi" or "Bear Lodge." Photo by National Park Service.

Lasioglossum hudsoniellum, f, right, Pennington, SD_2018-11-16-12.56.10 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

11

Today, having been dulled hunting bees in the heat I have decided to write this account in Latin (translation at the end). Lectio flagranti as we say.

Have septum templi prope chartæ extremitates. Halictus hudsoniellum hic. Abdomen nigrum vel nigra circa quam est quaedam autem fictilis per imaginem suam vogued underlayment rubrum. Hoc est apis occidentis, sed, sicut de ea uvam occidentis apes non sneaks a Badlands in Meridianus Dakota, ubi argilla inquinant gumbo communis inopia fruticum ac aspirant ad meridiem vegetabilis plus mentis habitu. Sic enim in multis apes, scilicet distributionem et deficient et in loco lineae clara demarcate in insulis et in sinu contingat extra septa normalis noxiorum, qui nescit unde quaerere. Non est enim beeographers cetera.

Ranges Have Edges. Lasioglossum hudsoniellum here. Rather than a black or near black abdomen it has vogued its image with some brick red underlayment. This is a western bee, but, like bunches of them western bees it sneaks into the Badlands of South Dakota , where the clay gumbo soils and general lack of vegetation aspire to a more southwestern vegetative outlook. So it is with many bees, distributions fail to demarcate themselves in bright lines and instead islands and pockets occur outside their normal ranges to titillate those who know where to look. There is no rest for beeographers.

Apis melliferapupae2_2019-09-06-19.23.35 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Lab

16

Apis mellifera, honey bee, pupae in the purple eye phase. Specimens provided by Krisztina Christmon from University of Maryland.

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

Basic USGSBIML set up:

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

or

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking: