Images

The oft times difficult to id male of the not so hard to id female Osmia georgica. Sometimes bees are inconvenient to work with. Picture by Amanda Robinson. 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.

The oft times difficult to id male of the not so hard to id female Osmia georgica. Sometimes bees are inconvenient to work with. Picture by Amanda Robinson. 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.

A not that great shot of a beat up male Osmia georgica from Maryland. why did I choose this lousy specimen? I am just not sure. Photo by Amanda Robinson. 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.

Osmia grindeliae is a widespread western mason bee. It just barely squeaks into Canada and no records as of yet in Mexico. This female was found in Yosemite National Park and collected for a project done by Lauren Ponisio examining the effect of fire diversity on bees (Ponisio et al. Gloebal Change Biol. 2016). Photograph by Samia Shell.

Osmia grindeliae is a widespread western mason bee. It just barely squeaks into Canada and no records as of yet in Mexico. This female was found in Yosemite National Park and collected for a project done by Lauren Ponisio examining the effect of fire diversity on bees (Ponisio et al. Gloebal Change Biol. 2016). Photograph by Samia Shell.

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.

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.

A bee I often associate with Sandy areas...this one captured on Cape Cod National Seashore as part of comparative studies of dune loving bees.

A bee I often associate with Sandy areas...this one captured on Cape Cod National Seashore as part of comparative studies of dune loving bees.

A bee I often associate with Sandy areas...this one captured on Cape Cod National Seashore as part of comparative studies of dune loving bees.

This bee is part of a taxonomic mystery spanning the continent. It turns out that the male of this species is very likely named as O. trevoris, by a long ago taxonomist., All specimens were thought to be limited to the West, but....there were these strange Osmia around the Great Lakes that were sometimes called (incorrectly it now seems) O.

This bee is part of a taxonomic mystery spanning the continent. It turns out that the male of this species is very likely named as O. trevoris, by a long ago taxonomist., All specimens were thought to be limited to the West, but....there were these strange Osmia around the Great Lakes that were sometimes called (incorrectly it now seems) O.

This bee is part of a taxonomic mystery spanning the continent. It turns out that the male of this species is very likely named as O. trevoris, by a long ago taxonomist., All specimens were thought to be limited to the West, but....there were these strange Osmia around the Great Lakes that were sometimes called (incorrectly it now seems) O.

Bright and shiny purple green blue unlike the relatively drab eastern species this is Osmia kincadii...found in the upper elevations of Yosemite National Park as part of a burn study. Photo by Anders Croft.

Ah, another beautiful green Osmia bee from the western U.S. O. kincaidii is the name, makes nest in holes in wood and lines them with leaf pulp. Praise the color selections that Nature provides. Collected in Yosemite National Park by Claire Kremen's Bee Troopers. Photograph by Anders Croft.

Ah, another beautiful green Osmia bee from the western U.S. O. kincaidii is the name, makes nest in holes in wood and lines them with leaf pulp. Praise the color selections that Nature provides. Collected in Yosemite National Park by Claire Kremen's Bee Troopers. Photograph by Anders Croft.

Osmia laeta. There are quite a number of Osmia out there. Despite their beauty, they can be irritatingly difficult to split apart. People who can help with identifications are definitely the bottleneck. This beauty comes from Yosemite National Park...part of the many studies of the Claire Kremen lab. Photo by Samia Shell and Lela Versteegen.

The classic Blue Orchard Bee, that many gardeners make nests for by drilling blocks of wood or buying little houses or straws. All well and good except for the fact that 2 recent Asian Osmia species are now starting to dominate populations in both urban and rural areas. O. taurus and O. cornifrons.

Here you can see the sculptured wonder of an Osmia's Mandibles...designed to cut leaves to line their nests. While indistinct you can see the notch out of the rim of the clypeus that defines this species. The classic Blue Orchard Bee, that many gardeners make nests for by drilling blocks of wood or buying little houses or straws.

Laura Russo collected these lovely squash bees (Peponapis pruinosa) near State College, Pennsylvania. Aptly named, this bee only feeds its young on the pollen of Cucurbita (pumpkins, squash, gourds and the like). This genus is native to the hemisphere....peaking in numbers in the Mexican highlands, but do not occur naturally in Pennsylvania (too cold).

Laura Russo collected these lovely squash bees (Peponapis pruinosa) near State College, Pennsylvania. Aptly named, this bee only feeds its young on the pollen of Cucurbita (pumpkins, squash, gourds and the like). This genus is native to the hemisphere....peaking in numbers in the Mexican highlands, but do not occur naturally in Pennsylvania (too cold).