I am the collection manager of the M. T. James Insect Collection and a specialist on the Lasioglossum (Dialictus) sweat bees in the western Nearctic region. I have several published papers on these bees (Gardner & Gibbs 2020, 2022, 2023) and more to come, as the taxonomy is still incomplete. I am also quite familiar with the midwestern bee fauna from my time in the University of Minnesota Insect Collection.