My final bee.....

..... from New Mexico.

I haven't been able to identify it, but we do know it's a bee, and not a bee mimic, because you can see the double wings clearly. (Bees have 4 wings, flies only 2).

I was absolutely stunned by the sheer variety of native bees in such a small area. And I know there were a number of the very tiny ones that I saw flying around, but was not able to photograph.

Such amazing diversity, and if it's hard to ID bees in South Australia, it's a nightmare in New Mexico. There is a very interesting pocket guide available, but its scope is quite narrow (of necessity, I would imagine). If I get to go back there again, I might just make contact with some of the bee researchers in the State. It would be really interesting to talk to them.