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!!! Very early date; Batra had fenningeri males flying on February 9, 1990, in Beltsville, MD, but this is probably one of the earliest records for NJ, at least north Jersey? Hundreds of males swarming over the ground in usual aggregation area - females also numerous, but much less so. I noticed no females with pollen (don’t know if Red Maple is flowering yet around here, didn’t check), but I also only had about 10 minutes to observe. They are the expected Scrapteropsis here.

!!! Very early date; Batra had fenningeri males flying on February 9, 1990, in Beltsville, MD, but this is probably one of the earliest records for NJ, at least north Jersey? Hundreds of males swarming over the ground in usual aggregation area - females also numerous, but much less so. I noticed no females with pollen (don’t know if Red Maple is flowering yet around here, didn’t check), but I also only had about 10 minutes to observe. They are the expected Scrapteropsis here.

We put metal cages around some of the native plants in our woods that we don't have many of, such as this American Fly-Honeysuckle. This eliminates deer browse so the protected plant can produce flowers, go to seed, and hopefully end up on the ground and germinate. On berry-producing plants like L. canadensis the birds will help distribute the seeds.

iNaturalist AI suggested only that this was a blood bee, no other suggestions. It however doesn't seem to be a blood bee :-) When I looked at the page for insects commonly misidentified as blood bees, I was pointed toward Holcopasites. Not sure if this species is correct, but seems possible? ID assistance very much appreciated! On fleabane, front yard. Bee was holding pretty much still as a rainstorm had just ended and sun was just starting to come back out, making for excellent views of the little guy.

This native wind-pollinated plant has an interesting reproductive strategy - its flowers bloom over a two-day period to assure cross pollination. The buds form under water but emerge above the surface to flower. Both stamens and pistils are present in each flower on the first day, but only the pistils open (Day 1 flower is on the right). At night, the first-day flowers submerge beneath the water. On the second day, flowers emerge from the water again, but with the pistils retracted (Day 2 flower is on the left). The stamen stalks are lengthened and the anthers open. After blooming, the sepals and petals fold up and submerge yet again. Fruit develops underwater.

Underwater recording of Weddell Seals by the McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory (www.moo-antarctica.net). Of potentially soniferous marine mammals, only Weddell seals occur in the area at this time of year. Verified also by regular visual/video observation. Hydrophone at 21m deep. (Attached photo is example of Weddell seal near the observatory site, but was not taken at the same time as the audio recording).

to my knowledge, this might be the first observation of this species at nests?

Photos and videos of nesting aggregations of Colletes hederae and Colletes halophilus in vertical faces of seaside bluffs in the UK inspired me to search for nests of C. speculiferus along the short, sandy "cliff face" here. Back on September 25th, I noticed some appropriately-sized holes in the cliff face just below an area in which Bank Swallows nest, but cloudy weather meant that activity on that day was pretty lackluster. Today, I returned to see if I'd have better luck in good weather. I didn't see anything the first time I walked along the cliff, other than an Agapostemon female, but as I was walking back, I saw a Colletes female dive into one of the same holes under that Bank Swallow colony that I noticed back in September. This female was in the nest for about four minutes before she re-emerged, having deposited the pollen that was on her legs when she entered. In all, some more casual searching turned up about 10 nests total spread along the ~6 foot high "cliff"; about half of these were on a sloping or vertical face, with the nest entrance facing outward, while the other half were on more horizontal surfaces at the top of the cliff. All nests had open holes about the size of a pencil eraser. Some were among dense grass or under overhanging roots, while others were in areas of bare sand. Some nests were quite close together, with entrances only a few centimeters apart. I saw females enter and exist nests numerous times. Males patrolled in the beach grass around areas where females were nesting, but I never saw any pairs mating.