The mysterious Nomada electella. Â Nomada are nest parasites. Â So, as a nest parasite the size of your host, you are going to be rarer than your host. Â If your host is rare then you are going to be rarer still. Â Nomada electella is very very rare. Â So rare its male has never been described in the literature. And so it was until a few years ago when I got to look at specimens from Dyke Marsh in Virginia collected by Edd Barrows. Â Dyke Marsh is basically and old dump, gravel operation, struggling marsh wetland natural community, surrounded by high density urban environment on the Virginia side of Washington D.C. Â Not a place for rarity. Â Yet, there were 100 of these bees, including a nice series of males. Â This multiplies the number of known specimens by probably 10. Â But what is its host? Â Still unknown. Â Nothings lept out form the other bees in the traps. Â This specimen is yet another one, from Bath County in Virginia collected by Ellison Orcutt whose team finds rare bees everywhere. Â Photo by Cole Cheng. Â Â Â
