Photomacrograph made with a digital SLR camera; x6 approximate magnification

The University of Kansas, Division of Entomology, Lawrence, Kansas, United States

Made with a highly specialized imaging system that uses fiber-optic electronic flash illumination, this photograph depicts a large male of the parasitic orchid bee species, Exaerete frontalis, that is found in tropical South America. Like cuckoo birds, females of this "cuckoo" bee sneak into the nests of other orchid bees to lay their eggs rather than raising their own offspring. The sample is from the collection of The University of Kansas Natural History Museum.