Photographs courtesy of the United States Geological Survey Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab.
North America boasts a stunning array of more than 4,000 native bees that play a quiet, integral role in our agricultural and native landscape. These powerhouse pollinators are often too quick or too small to see in detail, but a pause is needed to heed their diminishing numbers. The following is an up-close sampling of the native bees that share our home.
![Spring 2017: The Originals](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IGT_Melissodes-desponsa-f-face-Maine-Du-Clos_2015-12-01-17.37-2.jpg)
Pollen, pollen, pollen. This thistle-loving bee is found throughout North America, from North Dakota to Nova Scotia. Although bees carry loads of pollen on their legs, the pollen collected loosely all over the body helps pollinate most plants as well. This bee was collected in Maine during surveys of blueberry fields and surrounding habitat.
![Spring 2017: The Originals](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IGT_Osmia-lignaria-F-Back-Washington-DC_2013-11-13-10.49.51-ZS-PMax-2.jpg)
![Spring 2017: The Originals](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IGT_Diadasia-rinconis-right-Pima-Co.-AZ_2016-09-30-17.55-1.jpg)
Even harsh desert landscapes depend on pollinators to thrive. This fuzzy species play their part by aggregating nests in desert areas and collecting cactus pollen to feed their young. No cacti, no Diadasia rinconis.
![Spring 2017: The Originals](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IGT_Anthophora-bomboides-unkown-face_2012-06-12-14.46.36-ZS-PMax-1.jpg)
![Spring 2017: The Originals](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IGT_Halictus-ligatus-F-face-Philidelphia-PA_2013-01-04-14.44.36-ZS-PMax-1.jpg)
![Spring 2017: The Originals](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IGT_Svastra-obliqua-f-back-md-kent-county_2014-07-22-09.36.07-ZS-PMax-2.jpg)
![Spring 2017: The Originals](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IGT_Osmia-bruneri-M-Park-co.-Wyoming-back_2015-11-20-19.37-1.jpg)