Hoplitis fulgida, male, back
Hoplitis fulgida (fulgid is Latin for bling). This is one of our early shots, taken of a bee from Grand Teton National Park. It is a terrible specimen in many ways, not symmetrically arrayed, a bit crumpled, probably why I had ignored it. However, a closer look makes me appreciate its crumpledness, in a way it honors the deadness of the specimen without hiding its beauty. Two versions, one with some of the original highlights in the photo (slightly enhanced) Photo by Sierra Williams (now getting a Chemistry Degree on the west Coast!).
We Are Made One with What We Touch and See
We are resolved into the supreme air,
We are made one with what we touch and see,
With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,
With our young lives each spring impassioned tree
Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range
The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.
- Oscar Wilde. Original public domain image from Flickr