Andrena (Parandrena) weilesleyana, f, back, Middlesex Co, MA

Andrena wellesleyana is one of the many Andrena species. It is also one of a number of species where the males have extensive yellow on their faces while the females are completely black. I the bulk of species both males and females have black faces. I would, I think, like to have a yellow face, more ornamented, but why do some bees in this group have yellow and others not...and what about those handful of species where the females also have yellow? Mysterious. This is a sand loving, willow loving species. It is mostly western in distribution, but then there is a small island of individuals that live just in Southern New England. Interesting. Collected by Michael Veit in the old sand mines of Massachusetts. Photos by Hannah Sutton. 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. 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.