In the old days... People looked at bees by netting them. No traps, no ecological research. It was hunting. The people who did this were fanatical and knew their way around the outdoors, which, back then, was a lot closer to most people than it is now.
In any case lots of species rarely found now are present in these older collections, now...did they decline between then and now (certainly some since we have used up a bunch of bee habitat for housing, roads, and rowcrops) , or are they just fewer people looking? I lean towards the later, though both are likely at play. And here is one of those species. Macropis patellata. Found by Ellison Orcott of the VA Heritage Group (after many years of not being found) in the mountains of Virginia. This bee is an oil specialist, find Lysimachia (native loosestrife) plants and start looking. They have a weird lifestyle. You should look it up. Photo by Erick Hernandez.
~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.


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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,
We are made one with what we touch and see,
With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,
With our young lives each spring impassioned tree
Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range
The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.
- Oscar Wilde


You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:


Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:
www.extreme-macro.co.uk/

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:
bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Basic USGSBIML set up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY

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.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus
www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:
ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:
plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:
www.photomacrography.net/

Contact information:
Sam Droege
sdroege@usgs.gov



301 497 5840

Tags:   zerene stacker stackshot geological survey united states geological survey department of the interior droege biml bee inventory and monitoring laborator bug bugs canon close-up macro insect patuxent wildlife research center pwrc usgs dofstacking stacking entomologist canon mpe65 animals animal bee bees apoidea hymenoptera pollinator nativebee entomology macrophotography usinterior taxonomy:binomial=macropis patellata macropis virginia ellison orcutt

© All Rights Reserved

In the old days... People looked at bees by netting them. No traps, no ecological research. It was hunting. The people who did this were fanatical and knew their way around the outdoors, which, back then, was a lot closer to most people than it is now.
In any case lots of species rarely found now are present in these older collections, now...did they decline between then and now (certainly some since we have used up a bunch of bee habitat for housing, roads, and rowcrops) , or are they just fewer people looking? I lean towards the later, though both are likely at play. And here is one of those species. Macropis patellata. Found by Ellison Orcott of the VA Heritage Group (after many years of not being found) in the mountains of Virginia. This bee is an oil specialist, find Lysimachia (native loosestrife) plants and start looking. They have a weird lifestyle. You should look it up. Photo by Erick Hernandez.
~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.


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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,
We are made one with what we touch and see,
With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,
With our young lives each spring impassioned tree
Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range
The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.
- Oscar Wilde


You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:


Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:
www.extreme-macro.co.uk/

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:
bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Basic USGSBIML set up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY

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.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus
www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:
ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:
plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:
www.photomacrography.net/

Contact information:
Sam Droege
sdroege@usgs.gov



301 497 5840

Tags:   zerene stacker stackshot geological survey united states geological survey department of the interior droege biml bee inventory and monitoring laborator bug bugs canon close-up macro insect patuxent wildlife research center pwrc usgs dofstacking stacking entomologist canon mpe65 animals animal bee bees apoidea hymenoptera pollinator nativebee entomology macrophotography usinterior taxonomy:binomial=macropis patellata macropis virginia ellison orcutt

© All Rights Reserved

In the old days... People looked at bees by netting them. No traps, no ecological research. It was hunting. The people who did this were fanatical and knew their way around the outdoors, which, back then, was a lot closer to most people than it is now.
In any case lots of species rarely found now are present in these older collections, now...did they decline between then and now (certainly some since we have used up a bunch of bee habitat for housing, roads, and rowcrops) , or are they just fewer people looking? I lean towards the later, though both are likely at play. And here is one of those species. Macropis patellata. Found by Ellison Orcott of the VA Heritage Group (after many years of not being found) in the mountains of Virginia. This bee is an oil specialist, find Lysimachia (native loosestrife) plants and start looking. They have a weird lifestyle. You should look it up. Photo by Erick Hernandez.
~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.


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

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

We are resolved into the supreme air,
We are made one with what we touch and see,
With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,
With our young lives each spring impassioned tree
Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range
The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.
- Oscar Wilde


You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:


Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:
www.extreme-macro.co.uk/

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:
bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Basic USGSBIML set up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY

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.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus
www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:
ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:
plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:
www.photomacrography.net/

Contact information:
Sam Droege
sdroege@usgs.gov



301 497 5840

Tags:   zerene stacker stackshot geological survey united states geological survey department of the interior droege biml bee inventory and monitoring laborator bug bugs canon close-up macro insect patuxent wildlife research center pwrc usgs dofstacking stacking entomologist canon mpe65 animals animal bee bees apoidea hymenoptera pollinator nativebee entomology macrophotography usinterior taxonomy:binomial=macropis patellata macropis virginia ellison orcutt

© All Rights Reserved