Little Leaf cutter bee (Megachile sp.) foraging White Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba).
Milwaukee, WI
#leafcutterbees #beesofbluesky #MilwaukeeWildlife #Macrophotography
Female two-spotted longhorn bee (Melissodes bimaculatus) absolutely covered in pollen and foraging prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya).
Sometimes when bees clean their proboscis I imagine they are playing little trumpets.
#MacroPhotography
#MilwaukeeWildlife
#TheTrumpet
#TwoSpottedLongHorn
Bombus sp. foraging Giant Ironweed.
#LetMeSeeYourBeeFace #MilwaukeeWildlife #MacroPhotography
Happy Sleepy Bee Saturday!
Male Denticulate Longhorn Bee (Melissodes denticulatus) sleeping on the peddle of a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).
Can’t wait to see these beautiful blue eyes again this spring.
#BlueEyedBees #MacroPhotography #MilwaukeeWildlife #SleepyBeeSaturday
Bombus sp. foraging aster.
#bumblebees #MilwaukeeWildlife #MacroPhotography
Female Squash bee (Peponapis pruinosa) brushing pollen out of her eye as a tiny lil Field ant (Formica spp.) looks on while absolutely smothered in pollen.
Happy Saturday!
#MacroPhotography #CoveredInPollen
#MilwaukeeWildlife
A *wee* lil field ant (Formica spp.) I found climbing the surface of a water droplet.
#MacroPhotography #MilwaukeeWildlife #AntsCanBeCuteToo
Happy Fly-day Friday from this handsome bumble bee mimic robber fly - the Eastern yellow-backed laphria (Laphria thoracica)! These guys are so fun to watch.
Found this one hunting in my garden in June of 2024.
#FlyDayFriday #RobberFlies #FliesOfBluesky #MacroPhotography #MilwaukeeWildlife
Most of my favorite bees are of the genus Melissodes (Long horned bees), because dang are they cute. Finding aggregations of sleeping males - like these Two-spotted Longhorned bees (Melissodes bimaculatus) - is a huge reason why.
#LongHornedBees #MacroPhotography #MilwaukeeWildlife.
Let them fight!!!
Northern Paper Wasp (Polistes fuscatus) slapping the pollen off of a European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula).
This was a fun encounter to witness.
#LetThemFight #WaspsOfBluesky #MacroPhotography #MilwaukeeWildLife
Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta). These friends are absolutely stunning. Like little living gemstones.
#MacroPhotography #MilwaukeeWildLife #SpidersOfBluesky
Happy Hump-Day from these 2 male Squash Bees (Peponapis pruinosa) doing their best to further the species while the female hides at the bottom of the pumpkin flower.
#HumpDay #SquashBees #MilwaukeeWildlife #MacroPhotography #BeesofBluesky
This little Furrow bee (Halictus sp.) was super cute perched on our New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae).
#MilwaukeeWildLife
#macrophotography
#beesofbluesky
If anyone ever tries to tell you wasps aren’t pollinators you tell them to take it up with this Great Black Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus).
They were doing a wonderful job pollinating this goldenrod.
#Milwaukeewildlife
#Macrophotography
#WaspsArePollinatorsToo
Male Bi-Colored Striped Sweat Bee (Agapostemon virescens) in the petals of a Gladiola (Gladiolus communis). One of my favorite parts about last summer was finding these guys sleeping in the flowers every evening/ morning.
#wisconsinnativebees #beesofbluelsky #Macrophotography
#Milwaukeewildlife
Gnat Ogre Robber Fly (Holcocephala sp.) with prey. Diminutive in size, but not appetite - I love watching these little guys all summer.
#flyeyes #macrophotography #MilwaukeeWildlife
Fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus) close up.
#macrophotography #fieryskipper #Milwaukeewildlife
One Golden Green Sweat Bee (Augochlorella aurata) commin’ in hot on another GGSB foraging Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).
#macrophotography #bees #Milwaukeewildlife
Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) on Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera).
Zoom series.
#wisconsinnativebees #letmeseeyourbeeface #bumblebees #commoneasternbumblebee #milwaukeewildlife #blazingstar #pollinators #nativeplantsofnorthamerica #nativeplantsofwisconsin #nativebeesofwisconsin