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Agapostemon coloradinus (Vachal, 1903)
Agapostemon coloradensis Crawford, 1901; Halictus coloradensis_homonym (Crawford, 1901); Halictus coloradinus Vachal, 1903, replacement name

Life   Insecta   Hymenoptera   Apoidea   Halictidae   Agapostemon
Subgenus: Agapostemon

Agapostemon coloradinus, F, face, Pennington Co., South Dakota
© Copyright source/photographer · 9
Agapostemon coloradinus, F, face, Pennington Co., South Dakota

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Agapostemon coloradinus, F, side, Pennington Co., South Dakota
© Copyright source/photographer · 9
Agapostemon coloradinus, F, side, Pennington Co., South Dakota
Agapostemon coloradinus, M, back, Pennington Co., S. Dakota
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Agapostemon coloradinus, M, back, Pennington Co., S. Dakota

Agapostemon coloradinus, M, side, Pennington Co., S. Dakota
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Agapostemon coloradinus, M, side, Pennington Co., S. Dakota
Agapostemon coloradinus, M, back, Pennington Co., S. Dakota
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Agapostemon coloradinus, M, back, Pennington Co., S. Dakota

Agapostemon coloradinus, M, side, Pennington Co., S. Dakota
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Agapostemon coloradinus, M, side, Pennington Co., S. Dakota
Agapostemon coloradinus, male, hindbasitarsus, mtg
© Kimberly Huntzinger, 2007 · 1
Agapostemon coloradinus, male, hindbasitarsus, mtg
Identification
Extracted from: Roberts, 1973. Bees of Northwester America: AGAPOSTEMON. Agricultural Experimental Station. Oregon State University.

Synonymy: Agapostemon coloradensis Crawford, 1901.

Diagnosis. The male of this species has a bright metallic blue or green head and thorax and a metasoma banded with pale yellow and black. It is the only species of Agapostemon in the Northwest with a long brown or black streak longitudinally on the posterior surface of the hind femur (Fig. 8).

The female has a bright metallic blue or green head and thorax and a black metasoma banded with short, dense, white hair. It may be distinguished from the similarly colored A. virescens and A. melliventris by its brown wings, finer genal carinae (Figs. 10, 11), and larger size.

Distribution. The rarest of the North American representatives of this genus, A. coloradinus is found principally in the southern Rocky Mountains and adjacent plains of Colorado and Utah. In all probability it also occurs in southern Idaho and southwestern Oregon.

Biology. Females have been seen gathering pollen from Opuntia, but they probably take pollen from many other plants. Nothing is known of the nests of this species.

Extracted from: Roberts, 1972. The University of Kansas Science Bulletin.

Agapostemon coloradensis Crawford 1901. Lectotype* 9 , U.S. National Museum.
Halictus (Agapostemon) coloradinus Vachal 1903.

When Vachal placed Agapostemon in the genus Halictus, Agapostemon

* The specimen is labeled "Lectotype." Although I have not been able to find a lectotype
designation in the literature, I accept this specimen as a lectotype and formalize it by so
designating it here.

coloradensis Crawford became a junior secondary homonym of Augochlora
coloradensis Titus. Vachal renamed the former, Halictus (Agapostemon)
coloradinus. Few workers agreed with Vachal's placement of Agapostemon
as a subgenus of Halictus, but the International Code of Zoological Nomen-
clature (anonymous, 1964) states (Article 59c) that secondary homonyms
rejected before 1961 cannot be revived, contrary opinions (Cockerell, 1937a
and Michener, In Muesebeck, et al., 1951) notwithstanding.

Sandhouse (1936) included Agapostemon tyleri Cockerell and Aga-
postemon martini Cockerell in Agapostemon coloradinus (Vachal), but hav-
ing examined the types I find her decisions unjustified (cf. A. tyleri).

Distribution (Fig. 3). This is by far the rarest of the North American
species and its range is more restricted than that of any other North Ameri-
can species. I have seen fewer than 300 specimens, from the high, western
plains of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and from
both the plains and mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and
central Utah. Females have been collected from May through October and
males from August through October. Specimens have been collected as low
as 2,060 ft. (628 m) in Rush Co., Kansas and as high as 10,600 ft. (3,231 m)
at Echo Lake, Mt. Evans, Colorado.

Diagnosis. The male may be distinguished from all other North Ameri-
can species except A. tyleri by the lack of yellow maculations on its dark
brown to black metasomal sterna; from A. tyleri by its larger size, by the
brown streak on the central % of the length of the posterior surface of its
hind tibia (Figs. 159-160), and by its more slender penis valve which has a
conspicuous row of hairs on its dorsal crest (Figs. 226-227). The female
may be distinguished from many other species occurring north of Mexico
by its black metasoma and the lack of yellow on its clypeus; from A.
virescens by its finer and more numerous genal carinulae (2-3 per 0.25 mm
in A. virescens and 5-6 per 0.25 mm in A. coloradinus) ; and from A. tyleri
by its brown wings, paler tegulae and less shiny supraclypeal protuberance.
This species is very close phenetically to A. tyleri.

Description

male (Figs. 99-100, 160, 185, 199, 226)

General coloration of head and mesosoma bright metallic blue to yreenish
blue, metasoma with black and pale yellow to creamy bands. Head (Figs.
99-100): pubescence snowy white. (1) Labrum as in A. texanus but more
rounded at apex. (2) Clypeus as in A. virescens but punctures shallower
and pubescence more dense. (3) Interocular area with coarse contiguous
punctures (some specimens finely rugose around antennal sockets) ; supra-
clypeal protuberance as in A. virescens. (4) Vertex as in A. virescens. (5)
Gena as in A. virescens but with carinae much finer. (6) Malar area yellow, never amber; short. (7) Mandible as in A. virescens. (8) Antenna dark
brown to brown-black above with apex of apical flagellomere amber;
flagellum amber below and underside of scape and pedicel yellow (scape
of some specimens from Boulder, Colorado, area black with yellow apically
on underside). Mesosoma: pubescence snowy white. (9) Pronotum as
in A. virescens but with weaker sculpturing. (10) Mesoscutum as in A.
virescens but with finer punctures and with anterior margin punctate.
(11-13) Mesoscutellum , metanotum and mesepistemum as in A. virescens
but with finer sculpturing. (14) Metepisternum rugose or with irregularly
anastomosing carinae. (15) Propodentn with propodeal carina weak, often
broadly interrupted laterally; propodeal shield finely and weakly rugulose;
finely rugose dorsally and postero-laterally becoming punctate antero-
laterally. (16) Wing as in A. virescens but paler and with darker radial
vein. (17) Tegnla as in A. virescens but slightly paler and transparent.
(18-19) Fore and middle legs as in A. virescens but with brown-black mark-
ings of tibiae and femora more extensive and sometimes with yellow apically
on ventral surface of trochanter. (20) Hind leg (Fig. 160) as in A. virescens
but tibia with brown streak on apical Y 2 of posterior surface, femur with
brown streak entire length of posterior surface, trochanter usually with
yellow spot apically on antero-ventral surface, and tooth on femur directed
distally. Metasoma: (21) Terga brown-black with creamy bands on
basal halves of terga 2-5 and centrally on tergum 1 (commonly interrupted
medially on tergum 1); pubescence short dorsally on terga 1-4, black on
dark bands and white on creamy bands; moderately long and white else-
where. (22) Sterna brown to brown-black, usually with faint carina medially
on apical l / 2 of sternum 6; moderately long white hairs scattered on exposed
areas. (23) Genitalia (Figs. 185, 199, 226) as in A. virescens but with
smaller fold on medial plate of gonostylus and with conspicuous hairs on
prominent dorsal crest of penis valve.

female (Figs. 49-50)

General coloration of head and mesosoma bright metallic blue to blue-
green, metasoma black with white hair bands. Head (Figs. 49-50): (1)
Labrum as in A. texanus but with distal keel slightly broader. (2-4) Clypeus,
interocular area and vertex as in A. virescens but with sculpturing slightly
finer. (5) Gena as in A. virescens but with much finer and more numerous
(5-6 per 0.25 mm) carinulae. (6) Malar area dark ferruginous to brown-
black; very short, almost absent. (7) Mandible very dark amber with apical
l / 3 darker ferruginous and base almost black (with very faint metallic tints
on some specimens). (8) Antenna brown-black, lower half of flagellum
usually slightly paler brown than upper l / 2 . Mesosoma: snowy white
pubescence sometimes very slightly fuliginous on mesonotum and meta- notum. (9-15) Pronotum, mesoscutum, mesoscutellum , metanotum , mese-
pisternum, metepisternum and propodeum as in A. virescens but with
sculpturing slightly shallower and finer. (16) Wing brown in contrast to
that of male; unlike that of A. splendent, not markedly darker on distal
borders; radius brown-black, other veins and pterostigma dark brown.
(17) Tegida as in A. virescens. (18-20) Fore, middle and hind legs as in
A. virescens but with pubescence basally on antero-dorsal surface of hind
leg slightly paler (usually amber but may be dark brown). Metasoma:
(21-22) Terga and sterna as in A. virescens.


Names
Scientific source:

Supported by

Hosts · map
FamilyScientific name @ source (records)
Asteraceae  Cirsium sp @ BBSL (6)

Ericameria nauseosa @ BBSL (1)

Senecio sp @ BBSL (1)
Fabaceae  Cercidium sp @ BBSL (2)
Onagraceae  Oenothera sp @ BBSL (5)
Polygonaceae  Eriogonum pelinophilum @ BBSL (1)
_  Withheld @ BBSL (1)

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