Entomology and Botany.

Parasite.  

Nest parasite to be exact.  

Formerly in the genus Psithyrus, these bees are now in the genus Bombus, with the rest of the bumble bees.  The idea is that they are just bumble bees that have decided that it is easier to invade other bumble bee nests and disable or kill the queen and have the old queen’s daughters do their bidding….easier than doing all that pollen collecting themselves.  

This species appears to be associated with B. perplexus and B. rufocinctus, though there is certainly much more to learn and likely additional hosts.  This male came from the State College area of Pennsylvania and collected by Laura Russo.  Notably outside of the normal range of B. rufocinctus.

All original pictures completely public domain and available at our Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/

Photography Information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY

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Download our free field guide to the genera of bees:http://bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Public Bee Servant, sam droege

🌿 Large-leaved Avens 🌸 Geum Macropyllum 🍃 Rosaceae 🌺 look at those stamens!! So cool. 🌼

🌿 Pectiantia breweri 🌸 Brewer’s mitrewort 🍃 Saxifragaceae 🌺

How can ants have farms? They’re too small to control the chickens and the pigs

What’s that ya said there, pardner? Can’t hear ya over all these aphids.

The reason the waist is so thin is actually really interesting, so I’d like to talk about that while I have the opportunity. 

Insect wings beat fast. Hundreds of times per second, at least. All that beating takes a lot of energy and produces a lot of heat. Dealing with that heat is a big problem for a small insect, with less body tissue to flow through, heat dissipates through the wasp very quickly, and if it’s not dealt with, the wasp risks overheating and killing itself (40 degC is the point at which many proteins start to denature, and so is the point of no return for most living things). So, in order to take care of this problem, wasps have developed this ridiculously thin ‘waist’, technically called a pedicel, connecting their thorax and abdomen.

As the wing muscles beat, fluid (hemolymph, the insect equivalent of blood) pumps past them, bringing with it oxygen and nutrients. As this hemolymph flows past the muscles (returning to the abdomen), it sucks heat away from them, cooling them down bit by bit. Now, the hot hemolymph has to pass through the pedicel to get to the abdomen, and this is where the evolutionary genius kicks in. Because the pedicel is so thin and long, it has a huge surface area compared to the volume contained within, which means that the hot hemolymph spend more time in close proximity to the cold outside air. While the hemolymph passes through this tiny tube, it transfers most of it’s heat to the air outside of the wasp and ta-dah! A passive, maintenance-free cooling system for your wing muscles. 

The most interesting part of this, in my opinion, is that the pedicel also acts as a counter-current exchange mechanism, where cooler hemolymph moving out of the abdomen and into the thorax takes up some of the residual head from the hot hemolymph moving back to the abdomen. This way the wing muscles aren’t constantly being shocked with doses of cold hemolymph, and can continue to function at optimal temperature. By pumping hemolymph quicker or slower through their pedicels, the wasps should be able to almost perfectly regulate the temperature of their thorax, and thus the efficienct of their wing muscles! 

this is so cool!!!!!

Emperor gum moth (Opodiphthera eucalypti)

The emperor gum moth is a species of moth in the family Saturniidae native to Australia. Caterpillars can usually be found on young adult leaves between October and March. The emperor gum moth does not feed after it emerges from the cocoon, relying solely on the energy it stored as a caterpillar. Their adult life span is limited to a couple of weeks in which they mate, lay eggs and die. This insect was the first used in the successful development of continuous insect cell cultures.

photo credits: flagstaffotos.com.au, Fir0002, Chris Noble

Acmella oleracea, often known by its former scientific name Spilanthes, is a unique flower in the Asteraceae family. It has many common names, including electric daisy and toothache plant. These stem from the fact that the plant contains numbing agents. Chewing on the flower causes temporary numbness, tingling and salivation. This has made it a useful treatment for toothaches and stomach issues. 

Saxifraga bronchialis var. austromontana is in the family Saxifragaceae. Commonly known as spotted saxifrage, it is native to western North America along the Rocky Mountain Range from New Mexico north to British Columbia. Spotted saxifrage is a mat forming herbaceous perennial found in mountainous areas along rocky outcrops and in conifer forests. The white flowers are covered in purple to red dots, and born on top of long leafless flower stalks that emerge from the basal rosette of mosslike leaves.

Here are four ingenious ways carnivorous plants catch their prey, from @grossscience featuring @braincraft!

The Chemicals Behind the Colours of Autumn Leaves

Read more: http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/09/11/autumnleaves/

There are many species of Melissodes and, as you can see from this male, they aren’t called Long-horn Bees for nothing.  All or almost all of these species are summer to fall bees and most are fond to very fond of flowers in the Asteraceae family … the fall composites by other names. 

 Flowers of this group have the most bee specialists (at least in the East) of any plant family.  Why?… its not clear, but the family does seem to have consistency in that the plants are mostly perennials and therefore show up in the same places year after year, on the other hand, they are also characterized in the literature as having low protein content and lots of nasty secondary plant compounds that can be toxic to some baby bees.  Maybe it is this toxicity that makes the specialist bee become a specialist bee, a conspiracy of sorts.  This bee comes from Fossil Butte National Monument.   A fantastic place for bees as well as fossils.

“Purple velvet plant” I was very tempted to purchase this yesterday.

Fittonias like bright indirect light - so right up against a window with a sheer curtain to block direct sun would be good. Any dimmer and the plant will become very leggy after a few months. I like to clip it back and watch new pairs of leaves grow from the cut ends. This also helps to keep the overall plant looking bushier. Watering: when the soil becomes too dry, the leaves go limp, which is Fittonia-speak for “water immediately!” After a couple hours, the plant is restored to its perky self #fittonia #nerveplant #timelapse #plants #gardening #leaf #botanical #greenthumb #greenery #foliage #plantlife #botany #urbanjungle #greenfingers #houseplants #indoorplants #plantlove #plantstagram #indoorgarden #instaplants #plantsarefriends #plantlover #urbanjunglebloggers #indoorgardening

Hippomane mancinella, also known as the manchineel tree, is one of the most dangerous trees in the world. Native to Florida, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and South America, its name is actually a bastardization of the Spanish term manzanilla de la muerta, meaning ‘little apple of death’. 

The apples, stems, leaves, and bark of the tree cannot be touched at all, or they will cause a reaction. The apples are poisonous, and the sap and the leaves from the tree are so toxic that they can produce blisters just by lightly touching them. Lighting the leaves and branches of the trees on fire can result in internal burns in the lungs.

(Source)

Behold the morbid beauty of carnivorous plants!

These plants have some wildly diverse ways of catching their prey. Explore four of them in this week’s video—featuring @braincraft!

Coolest thing ever