https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/https://www.rawpixel.com/image/8756715
Andrena caerulea, f, side, Santa Barbara, CA
As its name implies, Andrena caerulae, is a bee with a deep blue shimmer to its skin. Unlike the plain black models of most of the other 500+ species of Andrena this species stands out, making identification a bit easier. In the face you can see the darkened patches of short hairs that line the depressions between eye, ocelli, and antennae (fovea) that characterize the genus Andrena. This one was caught on the Channel Islands as part of a National Park Service study of bees along the coasts. A little bedraggled, but the only one we caught, so its picture is taken.
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
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