Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera)- I love these flowers.

A very lazy male Broad-handed Leafcutter bee (Megachile latimanus) found snoozing on our Giant Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea)

Male Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee found snoozing in some cultivated flowers we have around our veggie garden. Milwaukee, WI

Found these bicolored striped sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens) sleeping in our Gladiolus last year. I collected these captures over about 3 months - it was so cool seeing them in the same flowers every morning and night

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle hiding in the flowers of our Swamp Milkweed.

Endangered Rusty-patch Bumble bee foraging on our Giant Ironweed. Milwaukee, WI

What I believe is a Red-footed Sharptail (Coelioxys rufitarsis) - a leaf-cutter cuckoo bee - foraging our Giant Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea) Milwaukee, WI

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) drying off on our Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata).

Apotheosis - Monarch chrysalis on the verge of Eclosion. 2 series of stacked phots (2x20 photos) blended together to reduce glare. I've wanted to get this photo for a while.

Found this little leafcutter foraging some Brown-eyed Susans in our garden. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Male Broad-handed leafcutter bees are a trip to watch. With their exaggerated forelimbs and propensity for ramming other insects off flowers they sure keep the garden interesting.

Wasps get a bad rap, but are super important pollinators. Sphex pennsylvanicus are absolutely beautiful and I always love seeing them in our yard.

Bombus resting on our Iron weed. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Jumping spiders are cute, and if you disagree you’re wrong.

Lots of M. bimaculatus males aggregating in our yard this evening. Probably one my favorite things to find.

Leafcutter bee foraging Swamp Milkweed.

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

Someone will probably try and tell you these field ants (Formica sp.) are farming these Aster treehoppers (Publilia concava) to harvest the nectar they excrete. Let’s be honest, though, they are clearly practicing necromancy. #AntsOfBluesky #AntsFarming #MacroPhotography

Rather wet and rainy day here in the ol’ MKE, so figured I’d share some of my refraction captures from last season. Love these little worlds suspended in rain drops. #MacroPhotography #refractions #rainyday #MacroMKE

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

Black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are some of my favorite flowers. Super excited for to see them blooming agin this year. #FlowerFriday #BlackEyedSusan #NativeFlowersForTheWin #MilwaukeeNativePlants #MacroPhotography

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

Did you know mosquitoes are pollinators? Only females feed on blood. Overexposed mosquito with pollen on its antennae. #macrophotography #mosquitoes #overexposed

Locked in time - what I believe is an extinct species of wasp in approx 34 - 48 million years old Baltic Amber. #amber #macrophotography #wasps

One Golden Green Sweat Bee (Augochlorella aurata) commin’ in hot on another GGSB foraging Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). #macrophotography #bees #Milwaukeewildlife

Fly-day Friday! The Thick-headed fly (Physocephala tibialis) - a species of parasitiod fly that utilizes Batesian mimicry by mimicking potter wasps. #flyday #Friday #ohshethicc #macrophotography

Fly-day Friday! Eastern Hornet Fly on aster. #flyday #macrophotography #milwaukeewildlife

Wrapped up tight until it’s time to bite. Sweat bee (Halictidae sp.) stuck in an orbweavers (Araneidae sp.) web. #mummy #macrophotography #bees #spiders

Northern Paper Wasp foraging on Goldenrod #Wisconsinnativespecies #polinators #NorthernPaperwasp

Happy Hump Day! Maiting pair of jagged ambush bugs (Phymata species) #humpday #birdsandbees #halfwaythere #macrophotography #macromke

It’s cold and snowy here in Milwaukee. All I can think about is how I want to be snuggled up like this little Male Bi-Colored Striped Sweat Bee (Agapostemon virescens) in thep petals of a Gladiola (Gladiolus communis). #wisconsinnativebees #beesofbluelsky #Macrophotography

Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) on Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera). Zoom series. #wisconsinnativebees #letmeseeyourbeeface #bumblebees #commoneasternbumblebee #milwaukeewildlife #blazingstar #pollinators #nativeplantsofnorthamerica #nativeplantsofwisconsin #nativebeesofwisconsin

Oh, hey. Here’s a very wet honey bee on some showy goldenrod. Follow me for more Macro fun from the Milwaukee area. #macro #letmeseeyourbeeface #honeybee