179 replies to this topic

[ConcordAntman]

 

Mmm, metallic sweat bees are always so pretty. Cuckoo wasp and related wasps as well as orchid bees are lovely too.

I need to get a photo of the metallic blue cuckoo wasps I see here.

 

Wasps you say! I shot these over the past few days but didn’t post them because they weren’t bees. Now that you’ve mentioned wasps, a Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) on Porcelainberry (I think) and in flight. 
 

 

 

 

 

A Four-toothed Mason Wasp (Monobia quadridens). I was struck by their size and the wing color. 
 

 

[ANTdrew]

Phenomenal

[ponerinecat]

Would wasp mimic flies count? 

[ANTdrew]

That is definitely porcelainberry, unfortunately.

[ConcordAntman]

ANTDrew, you’re making me into a horticulturist! I look these plants up so I don’t embarrass myself. Is porcelainberry a problem? There’s bunch growing beside our house! 

[ANTdrew]

It's just one of the most ecologically destructive invasive vines around, but no biggie. Pollinators do love it.

[ConcordAntman]

[ConcordAntman]

😱

[ANTdrew]

I raised several Zizia aurea  plants from wild gathered seeds. I was happy to see it already pulling its weight in my pollinator garden yesterday. Here is an Augochlora bee feeding.

 

[ANTdrew]

Bombus griseocollis on Rosa carolina

Attached Images

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Edited by ANTdrew, June 10 2021 - 6:25 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Bombus bimaculatus gathering pollen from Rosa carolina:

[ZTYguy]

So cute. Flying floofs

[NPLT]

I love bumbleebees, and thanks to a lotta flowers in my yard, they come here very often, I found today a bumbleebee doing something in a moss patch, I kinda hope that was a queen or a worker returning to nest, I'll try to get a photo of them one day.

[gcsnelling]

 

Sorry I don’t have much variety. The Japanese Spiraea is enticing to our winged friends. 
 

 

 

I thought this was a Sweat Bee of the Lasioglossum genus but it might be a Carpenter Bee of the Ceratina genus. 
 

 

 

Ceratina.

[gcsnelling]

 

After a quick stop, this Unarmed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile inermis) flies off to another Japanese Spiraea blossom. 

 

 

This Spiraea blossom hosts a buffet for three! (L to R) Bombus impatiens, Megachile inermis, and a Sweat Bee of the Lasioglossum species 
 

 

The Megachile inermis is an Andrena I suspect, note the apparent pollen baskets on the hind legs.

[Zeiss]

I'm not sure if I am the only person having this issue, but there are various posts from ANTdrew and ConcordAntman where there are supposedly photos, but nothing shows up for me.

[ANTdrew]

On my end, I accidentally deleted my gallery a few months ago to free up space. Lo and behold all the photos I posted from gallery vanished, too. Sorry.

[ConcordAntman]

I’m excited! Tomorrow is my first webinar, Bees: A Short Course for Community Scientists from the OSU Department of Entomology, under the auspices of The National Native Bee Monitoring RCN. There are ample opportunities for community interaction with researchers so check out the thread I’d started during the winter: 

 

https://www.formicul...-bees/?p=172106

 

In light of my upcoming course and the research network’s focus on bumblebees, I turned my lens to bumblebee-hunting and came up with a few keepers. This Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) has its tongue out in anticipation of the nectar ahead in the Salvia sp flower. 
 

 

 

At an adjacent blossom, this small Carpenter Bee (Genus Ceratina) “beelines” towards its snack in the same Salvia plant (couldn’t quite speciate this one).

 

 

 

 

I haven’t identified this species either but I suspect it’s a Fernald’s Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus fernaldae) in Japanese Spiraea (Spiraea japonica). 

 

 

 

 

Finally, a Wilke’s Mining Bee (Andrena wilkella) in Spiraea. 
 

 

. 

 

I stink at identifying ants so I doubt I’m any better at bees. Feel free to correct any ID’ing errors I might have made. 

Edited by ConcordAntman, June 18 2021 - 2:48 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Nice shots! That carpenter bee is Ceratina. You could try emailing Sam Droege at the USGS about that unidentified bumblebee.

[ConcordAntman]

Nice shots! That carpenter bee is Ceratina. You could try emailing Sam Droege at the USGS about that unidentified bumblebee.

Thanks! I use iNaturalist to help me ID the flora and fauna I photograph. iNaturalist had pegged Ceratina (I’ll edit my post to reflect it). Good idea about Sam Droege. He’s part of the Bumblebee Watch. I see he’s at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. I just pinged their site and found an online wildlife ID’ing guide

https://www.discoverlife.org/

https://www.discover...#Identification

Edited by ConcordAntman, June 18 2021 - 3:33 AM.