Andrena wellesleyana, m, face, Middlesex Co, MA
Andrena wellesleyana is one of the many Andrena species. It is also one of a number of species where the males have extensive yellow on their faces while the females are completely black. I the bulk of species both males and females have black faces. I would, I think, like to have a yellow face, more ornamented, but why do some bees in this group have yellow and others not...and what about those handful of species where the females also have yellow? Mysterious. This is a sand loving, willow loving species. It is mostly western in distribution, but then there is a small island of individuals that live just in Southern New England. Interesting. Collected by Michael Veit in the old sand mines of Massachusetts. Photos by Hannah Sutton.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all
Ye know on earth and all ye need to know
" Ode on a Grecian Urn"
John Keats. Original public domain image from Flickr