Megachile latimanus, partial side
Male Tools. Check out the bright white expanded tarsal segments on this very large leaf cutting bee. These mods are used to cover the female's eyes during mating. Collected during a gathering of bee heads as part of the Adirondack Mountains ATBI BioBlitz this past week.
Further in Summer than the Birds
Pathetic from the Grass
A minor Nation celebrates
Its unobtrusive Mass.
No Ordinance be seen
So gradual the Grace
A pensive Custom it becomes
Enlarging Loneliness.
Antiquest felt at Noon
When August burning low
Arise this spectral Canticle
Repose to typify
Remit as yet no Grace
No Furrow on the Glow
Yet a Druidic Difference
Enhances Nature now
-- Emily Dickinson. Original public domain image from Flickr