Osmia felti, m, face, Delta Co. MI_2020-02-17-19.06.40 ZS PMax UDR

Description :

If you have Osmia felti on your property you are doing something right. This is a biggish Osmia, obvious, and with some decent id characters. A lovely shade of blue, and just plain rare. It does the not untypical thing of occurring in the mixed conifer forests of the Eastern part of the continent and then slipping down the Appalachians into North Carolina (In fact I just saw several from the Blue Ridge Parkway in that state a few months ago). Intriguingly, all the places I have seen specimens for friend O. felti from have been pristine. No ag lands, no backyards. Basically, the kinds of spots you would like to live, but know that living there would ruin the very essence of that spot. So, we don't seem to know anything more than it exists, is rarely found, and has good taste in habitats. We don't know what pollen if feeds on, anything special about its life style, why it has such long hairs on the underside of its head, and whether we should be concerned about its wellfare...or not. Photo by Cole Cheng. Collected in Hiawatha National Forest in MI and I can't recall how we got a hold of this specimen. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{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/ Art Photo Book: Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World: www.amazon.com/Bees-Up-Close-Pollinators-Around-World/dp/... 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: 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