Melissodes bimaculata, m, right side, Caroline Co. Maryland
The male of the Melissodes most likely to be encountered in a garden in the Mid-Atlantic...Melissodes bimaculata. Most Melissodes are hairier and have lighter hairs than this bad boy. The white hairs on the legs really stand out and, even by eye, this species is identifiable when it visits your flowers. Photography by the fab Amanda Robinson.
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