Images

Unknown Scale insect on Amaryllis in my laboratory in Beltsville Maryland

Eucanthus lazarus, Scarab beetle, Chino Farm, Queen Anne County, Maryland, Collector Dan Small - Determination kindly provided by Frank Guarnieri

Unknown Scarab, found in bowl trap in the high plateau of West Virginia by Jane Whitaker, specimen approximately 8mm and floating in hand sanitzer. You can see a couple of mites on the left side. This specimen has been designated as the Gilbert Godfrey Beetle by the NWF Staff.

Unknown Scarab, found in bowl trap in the high plateau of West Virginia by Jane Whitaker, specimen approximately 8mm and floating in hand sanitzer...notice the 4 mites!

Piranga olivacea - Sadly this particular bird collided with a building in downtown Washington D.C. and the Lights Out DC / City Wildlife found it on an early spring morning. This foot, while dirty, is just filled with lovely graceful curves and reptilian scutes. Photograph by Sue Boo.

Piranga olivacea - Sadly this particular bird collided with a building in downtown Washington D.C. and the Lights Out DC / City Wildlife found it on an early spring morning. Here is a closeup of the coverts on the wing area. Photograph by Sue Boo.

Piranga olivacea - Sadly this particular bird collided with a building in downtown Washington D.C. and the Lights Out DC / City Wildlife found it on an early spring morning. Despite the obvious damage, it is still a wonderful looking bird. Photograph by Sue Boo.

This ubiquitous North American species can be found gathering mud for its nest almost anywhere. I have collected it in urban areas to remote villages in the center of Guyana. This specimen is from Key Biscayne National Park in Florida and was arrayed without a pin by Brooke in our lab and then photgraphed on a piece of glass by Ben

This ubiquitous North American species can be found gathering mud for its nest almost anywhere. I have collected it in urban areas to remote villages in the center of Guyana. This specimen is from Key Biscayne National Park in Florida and was arrayed without a pin by Brooke in our lab and then photgraphed on a piece of glass by Ben

The flower of the Starvine. Schisandra glabra. Photograph by Helen Lowe Metzman.

Schizocosa avida, in hand sanitizer in a cuvette, unknown species, September, Maryland, identified by Lady Arachnophile

Upper Marlboro, MD, May 2012

Upper Marlboro, MD, May 2012

A wasp species. This specimen was collected as part of a bee survey of Cape Cod National Seashore and its larva are parasitoids of beetle grubs.

A wasp species. Note the lovely folds and ridges in the wing, a feature of the wasp family Scoliidae.

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Scolia dubia, Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Scoliid Wasp, Hawaii

Colletes pahceliae - As you might suspect it is a lover of the plant phaceliae. Many of the Colletes are tight plant specialists. Only feeding their babies the pollen from one group of plants. With that lifestyle comes your status becomes linked to the the status of those plants. The status of those native plants are a mirror of how we treat our environments.

Colletes phaceliae - Western bee, but this one caught at the edge of its range, where it was hanging out in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Photo by Erick Hernandez and Kelly Graninger.

Colletes productus - Lover of Lyonia. Lyonia = obscure shrub aka fetterbush/staggerbush/maleberry. There are a lot of obscure relationships out there. Here is a specialist bee dependent on an reasonably lovely ericaceous shrub. No Lyonia no C. productus and several other bees. Who speaks for Lyonia though? Can we plant our way back to native bee health.