ID#: 8818
Caption:
Magnified 28X, this scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image depicted some of the ultrastructural features displayed on the surface of an eastern carpenter bee, Xylocopa virginica, head. This particular bee was found deceased on the grounds of the Decatur, Georgia suburbs, an area where these insects are quite common. Carpenter bees can be quite a nuisance, for they are well known as woodborers, and can create many unsightly holes in a home's wooden components. The feathery structures are known as setae, and though they appear frail, the material from which they are constructed, known as chitin, is the same proteinaceous material that created its tough exoskeletal exterior. These setae, are highly sensorial in nature, and transmit changes in the bee's environment such as fluctuations in temperature, chemistry, and wind speed and direction.
High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (5.48 MB)
Content Provider(s): CDC/ Janice Carr, Oren Mayer
Creation Date: 2006
Photo Credit: Janice Haney Carr
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Copyright Restrictions: Permission is not required for public domain images, however, these images are provided by CDC and are available for personal, professional, and educational use with appropriate attribution. Redistribution must credit CDC and, where known, the individual photographer, and identify the CDC website as the free source. For additional terms see Use of Agency Materials | Other | CDC