Kelso Dunes at sunrise

I am excited to announce that I have received a grant from @insidenatgeo ! As a #NatGeoExplorer I will be creating a book that features original photographs and documents rare native bees throughout California. Learn more about my work in the link in my bio. Photo credit: @bvanderbrug

This is a female Hesperapis mentzeliae. H. mentzeliae is an undescribed species from an unpublished manuscript. They are Mentzelia pollen specialists. Before yesterday I didn't realize I hadn't seen a Hesperapis collecting pollen. In the video, you can see she's going into the center of the Mentzelia involucrata (Sand Blazingstar) to temporarily collect pollen on her chest. After she leaves the center of the flower she goes into a tripod stance, removes the pollen from her chest, and moistens it with her mouth parts before transferring the pollen to her hind legs. I thought this was something only Panurginae bees like Perdita and Calliopsis do. Not sure how many Hesperapis do this, but cool to observe. #cygnustechdiffuser #insect #macrophotography #yourshotphotographer #macrogrammers #natgeo #macro #snagnation #entomology #macrothopy #nativebees #bees #pollinators #insectphotography #macromood #flowers #savethebees #insectphotography #bee #insects #bug #natgeowild #insectsofinstagram #pollinator #conservationphotography #nikon #hesperapis #hesperapismentzeliae #sandblazingstar #mentzelia

My Kickstarter campaign for Native Bees of the Western United States Flashcards is now LIVE! The link to the campaign is in my Bio! During the first 48 hours of my campaign, you'll have access to a special 15% discount on one, two, or five decks. This deck of flashcards features 40 of the most commonly encountered native bees species in the Western United States. The purpose of this deck is to assist in understanding and appreciating these wonderful creatures. You will learn scientific and common names, taxonomy, habitat information, features that will help you learn to ID, and more all in one place. These flashcards provide easy access to information useful whether you are just starting or have years of knowledge. Thank you for in advance! #kickstarter #beesip #nativebees #flashcards

Xeralictus is a bee genus with only two species. I planned to spend two days in Riverside and San Diego County desert looking for both species, but I found them within my first six hours. So I decided to head home. Here is one of the two, a Bicuspidaria Blazingstar-Shortface (Xeralictus bicuspidate). He has a symbiotic relationship with the ghost flower (Mohavea confertiflora). Here are some words from Doug Yanega about this cool symbiotic relationship, "It has long been recognized that the Mohavea confertiflora is a mimic of the flower Mentzelia involucrata, as some of the bees that visit the Mentzelia for pollen will also visit the Mohavea, where they cannot collect pollen. Mimicry of the Mohavea flower involves tricking male Xeralictus into thinking there are females in the flowers. An empty Mentzelia flower is entirely yellow, and patrolling male Xeralictus fly right past them. However, when a female Xeralictus visits the flower, she buries her head in the flower, leaving only the tip of her abdomen exposed amidst the anthers. Patrolling males pounce on females while they're in this vulnerable position and attempt to mate. The Mohavea flowers have a dark central marking that is almost the exact size and color of a female Xeralictus abdomen (third photo). A patrolling male will dive into the flower, but instead of him encountering a female as he obviously expects, the trap-like flower deposits a yellow stripe of pollen on the top of his thorax, where he cannot remove it (second photo). The pollen is carried to the next Mohavea flower, so the plant achieves pollination without sacrificing any nectar or pollen to the bees." #cygnustechdiffuser #insect #macrophotography #yourshotphotographer #macrogrammers #natgeo #macro #snagnation #entomology #macrothopy #nativebees #bees #pollinators #insectphotography #macromood #flowers #savethebees #insectphotography #bee #insects #bug #natgeowild #insectsofinstagram #pollinator #conservationphotography #nikon #xeralictus #xeralictusbicuspidariae #ghostflower #mohaveaconfertiflora

I want to thank all of the new people who've decided to follow me. I really appreciate you being here! It's been a crazy few months meeting new people, traveling, and wonderful opportunities. I can't wait to share them as they come to fruition. Some of you might be wondering why I'm not positing. I usually take a large break from November to March because there aren't a lot of native bees flying around. Well, I saw my first native bee of the season on Wednesday, so I'm back. This is a male Anthophora neglecta (first photo) who was nectaring on bladderpod at Red Rock in the Mojave Desert. As far as I'm aware, this isn't a commonly seen bee. I originally thought he was an early Habropoda tristissima (second photo); these bees look very similar. Especially when they're flying around nonstop. I take ID photos even when I think I'm sure I know what I'm looking at. Good thing I did because the wing venation confirmed he's an Anthophora. Anthophora and Habropoda can be difficult to tell apart, so a good photo of the veins in the wings will differentiate them. Thanks, Michael Orr, for the species ID. #cygnustechdiffuser #insect #macrophotography #yourshotphotographer #macrogrammers #natgeo #macro #snagnation #entomology #macrothopy #nativebees #bees #pollinators #insectphotography #macromood #flowers #savethebees #insectphotography #bee #insects #bug #natgeowild #insectsofinstagram #pollinator #conservationphotography #nikon #anthophoraneglecta #anthophora #bladderpod #redrock

To help share in the understanding and appreciation of native bees I’ve created these flashcards. 40 of the most common native bees species in the Western United States are featured.  This has been a passion project of mine since 2019, and I'm happy it's so close to becoming a reality. I'm launching the Kickstarter in March 2023. If you'd like to receive a notification when the project goes live, visit the link in my bio. #nativebees #naturephotography #nature #beesip #bees #kickstarter #flashcards #entomology #melittology #insects #natgeo

This is a very rare bee called a Melissodes nigracauda, she's visiting Ericamerica. I thought she might have been a VERY off-season Habropoda tristissma at first. But when I looked at the photos, in my camera, her blue eyes and head shape just screamed Melissodes. There isn't a lot known about this bee, but they are thought to be an Asteraceae specialist and are only present in California and Baja. I went to this location a couple of times to find males but didn't have any luck. If you're wondering, under all that pollen, she has dark scopal hair. According to Karen Wright, "There are only a few specimens in collections which is why we don’t have much information on them. Also, there aren't many records..." Thanks, Karen, for the species ID. __________________________ #cygnustechdiffuser #insect #macrophotography #yourshotphotographer #macrogrammers #natgeo #macro #snagnation #entomology #macrothopy #nativebees #bees #pollinators #insectphotography #macromood #flowers #savethebees #insectphotography #bee #insects #bug #natgeowild #insectsofinstagram #pollinator #conservationphotography #nikon #longhornedbee #ericameria #melissodes #melissodesnigracauda

Did you know not all Perdita carry pollen the same way? Temporarily accumulating pollen on the chest is something that almost all Panurgine bees do. Then most go into a tripod stance, pick up the pollen from their chests, moisten it with their mouthparts, and pack the pollen onto their hind legs. The bee in the first photo is likely a Perdita (Procockerelli) albonatata. I photographed her about a month ago in Joshua Tree visiting Baileya pleniradiata. Procockerelli is a subgenus that does things a little differently. In the photo, she's moving the pollen she collected on her chest to her back legs without doing the tripod stance or moistening it. The second photo features a Perdita ericameriae on Ericameria doing the tripod stance that they're known for, upside down. If you look at their hind legs, you'll see dry vs. wet carrying of pollen. Pretty cool! __________________________ #cygnustechdiffuser #insect #macrophotography #yourshotphotographer #macrogrammers #natgeo #macro #snagnation #entomology #macrothopy #nativebees #bees #pollinators #insectphotography #macromood #flowers #perdita #savethebees #insectphotography #bee #insects #bug #natgeowild #insectsofinstagram #pollinator #conservationphotography #nikon #albonatata #ericameria #procockerelli

If you ever get the chance, visit Joshua Tree after a monsoon. Even in drought years, everything just comes alive. It's beautiful! I was wandering around the desert and found this little bee visiting Pectis papposa. This is a female Protandrena (Ptersarus). She has got to be one of the slowest flying bees known to man. They're basically tiny flying sloths. One flew so slowly I was actually able to watch her fly about two feet away from the flowers into a burrow that was hidden under some shrub (third picture). Normally, it's so hard to keep track of bees since they zip around so fast. In California, there's not a lot of information about species in this genus. In fact, there was a revision where all of these old genera: Pseudopanurgus, Anthemurgus, Pterosarus, and Heterosarus are now subgenera under Protandrea. Thanks, Jason Gibbs and Steve Robinson, for that info. I even went through all those subgenera on iNaturalist and found only one other California observation, but it's not verified. Seems like a pretty rare bee. __________________________ #cygnustechdiffuser #insect #macrophotography #yourshotphotographer #macrogrammers #natgeo #macro #snagnation #entomology #macrothopy #nativebees #bees #pollinators #insectphotography #macromood #flowers #pseudopanurgus #savethebees #insectphotography #bee #insects #bug #natgeowild #insectsofinstagram #pollinator #conservationphotography #nikon #pectispapposa #protandrena #ptersarus

Bee burrows aren’t something I see regularly, so I decided to make a video featuring two female Anthophora flavocincta, creating and camouflaging their burrows. They were nectaring on Cleomella obtusifolia, which was the only plant nearby. There was some Heliotropium in the area, which is a plant they collect pollen from, but I didn’t see them visiting it. Thanks to Michael Orr for the species ID. __________________________ #insect #macrophotography #yourshotphotographer #macrogrammers #natgeo #macro #entomology #macrothopy #nativebees #bees #pollinators #insectphotography #macromood #flowers #savebees #savethebees #insectphotography #bee #insects #bug #natgeowild #insectsofinstagram #pollinator #conservationphotography #nikon #cleeomellaobtusifolia #heliotropium #anthophoraflavocincta #diggerbee #anthophora