Nomada seneciophila, f, side, md, charles county

What a lovely bee. This is Nomada seneciophila. A bee that had not been seen for over 20 years until I netted a set on the Pomonkey DOD base in Charles County Maryland. The host for this rare bee is unknown, but now I think I know what it is because at that same site was Andrena gardineri another rare bee and a specialist on ragwort ... whose old scientific name was ...Senecio! So, the combination seems obvious and how exciting to have all of that come together on a military instillation that would not normally warrant a second look. Photograph by Wayne Boo. 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.