Bees

Bees and their close relatives bring bright color, fine hairs, and pollination-focused behavior to the insect world. This gallery highlights a small selection of hymenopteran subjects captured in field and garden settings.

Bees and Wasps

The galleries below show a range of species from metallic sweat bees to yellow jackets and hornets. Each page focuses on the animal’s posture, texture, and relationship to flowers or foliage.

Bald-faced Hornet
Dolichovespula maculata
A large paper wasp with contrasting white and black markings, often photographed near flowers and nest sites.

Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus griseocollis
A robust bumble bee with a single brown band across the abdomen, shown visiting flowers in open habitat.

Yellow Jacket
Vespa crabro
A close portrait of a yellow jacket perched on a leaf, highlighting its bold black-and-yellow pattern.

Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee
Augochlorella striata
A metallic green sweat bee with yellow banding, shown nectaring on a flower.

Oak Apple Wasp Gall
Amphibolips quercusinanis
A close look at the empty gall showing the exit hole of a cynipid wasp’s larval chamber.