MSU bee collecting 2023

I can't post this to regular social media because I just don't have the energy to deal with people these days. But I completed just over 500 observations of just bees and wasps including their pollinator plants this year just in South Mississippi (this excludes flies and Lepidoptera). I collected 264 specimens (which includes about a dozen flies). I am sure I missed several species that I can't bring to the top of my brain right now, but I am pleased with the diversity I did find even if the Bees and Apoid Wasps of Mississippi project only lists me at 65 species total since so many can only be identified to genus without a microscope.

Hopefully, I can find time to dig into finding an affordable microscope and sit down and learn more about anatomy and identification beyond gestalt that helped me with collecting this year. I would definitely like to know more about the many Melissodes that entertained be with their hairy white and yellow faces, the ghostly Synhalonia that I am staring at right now, and the unidentified Colletes that had me singing "Mr. Cellophane" one too many times. This year I targeted specific flora, and I might do the same next year as I missed some blooms due to a very late frost. I also need to look more into galls and their visitors/inhabitants. I also need to see if I can dig deep in this next middle of June and bat baby season to find time for collection as I missed most of June this year raising about 25 little Lasiurus species abandoned by straight line winds, overwhelmed moms and crazy birds. Anway, I just wanted to stick a little tally somewhere as journal moment about this weird little project, thanks for reading this far. If you helped with IDs thank you and if you are pissed off by my collecting and pinning, keep it to yourself. All of these specimens are headed to Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Entomological Museum.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/misspt?captive=&created_on=&d1=&d2=&day=&filter_spam=false&filters_open=true&geoprivacy=&hrank=&identifications=any&list_id=&lrank=&month=&nelat=&nelng=&not_in_place=&order=desc&order_by=observations.id&page=1&place_id=&q=&quality_grade=any&rank=&reviewed=&search_on=&site=&swlat=&swlng=&taxon_geoprivacy=&taxon_id=630955&taxon_ids%5B%5D=&taxon_name=Bees&tdate=&user_id=705762&utf8=%E2%9C%93&view=map&viewer=705762&year=2023

Posted on November 18, 2023 02:01 AM by misspt