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Identification Summary:Large; white to very pale yellow wing veins; hairs on wing usually bright white; complete fan on T1; somewhat like L. cressonii but dark blue thorax and scutal punctures less dense; rim of propodeal triangle can at times be partially carinate but usualy tends to not be.

Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1960 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 141.


FEMALE�Length 6 mm.; head and thorax olive green, abdominal terga more piceous, with hyaline apical margins; pubescence short, thin, entirely white, apical segments of abdomen dimly pale tomentose; head slightly broader than long; clypeus broadly convex, projecting somewhat more than one-half below suborbital line; supraclypeal area nearly as long as broad and only slightly shorter than clypeus; eyes convergent below; lateral ocelli slightly nearer eyes than each other; cheeks subequal to eyes in width; face below ocelli somewhat shining between the coarse, deep, distinct punctures, these distinctly but not widely separated medially, becoming somewhat finer and more widely separated at extreme sides, and becoming minute and obscure oii the vertex laterally; cheeks above shining, minutely and rather sparsely punctate, becoming finely but distinctly striate below; hypostomal carinae parallel, apical angle rather narrowly rounded; lower half of face somewhat shining, punctures deep, distinct and rather coarse, well separated between antennae and eyes, but becoming somewhat closer below, those on supraclypeal area somewhat finer, quite close except near midline, those along upper margin of clypeus rather fine and quite close, otherwise the punctures rather coarse, deep and well separated, entire surface except the narrow upper margin blackened; scutum and scutellum somewhat shining, punctures rather sparse over most of scutum, being close only at extreme sides (much as in nymphaearum, fig. 99); scutellum finely and sparsely punctate except in midline where the punctures are close; pleura rather coarsely rugose above, becoming rather finely rugoso-striate posteriorly; dorsal area of propodeum rather coarsely striate laterally, becoming more irregularly and finely rugoso-striate medially, posterior face almost completely encircled by a salient rim, surface rather finely reticulate, lateral faces rather finely rugoso-striate; wings whitish, veins and stigma pale yellow; tegulae testaceous-hyaline; legs brownish-piceous basally, becoming somewhat paler apically; abdominal terga 1 and 2 shining, punctures very minute, and rather irregularly scattered on 1, somewhat more regular and close across basal half of 2, but these very minute, apical margin rather broadly but shallowly impressed and becoming narrowly whitish-hyaline along rims, terga 2 rather thinly tomentose at extreme sides, 3 and 4 quite densely pale tomentose, apical margins rather broadly whitish hyaline.

MALE�Length 5.5 mm.; head and thorax metallic green, abdomen piceous, terga whitish-hyaline apically; pubescence rather short and thin, entirely pale, rather dense on face, quite copious on thorax laterally; length and breadth of head subequal; clypeus quite narrow and protuberant, projecting about two- thirds below suborbital line; supraclypeal area subequal to clypeus in length; eyes strongly convergent below; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes and each other; basal segment of flagellum slightly longer than pedicel, about as broad as long, following segments somewhat longer but not nearly twice as long as broad, pale brownish-testaceous below, becoming dark brownish to piceous above; cheeks slightly narrower than eyes; face below ocelli somewhat shining beneath the rather dense pubescence, punctures rather deep and distinct but fine and close, becoming more irregular and widely separated on vertex laterally; cheeks above shining, punctures fine and indistinct, becoming smooth and shining beneath; hypostomal carinae subparallel, apical angles quite abrupt; lower half of face very finely and quite closely punctate beneath the dense tomentum; scutum and scutellum shining, punctures deep and distinct but rather fine, quite sparse, becoming somewhat closer anteriorly and at extreme sides; pleura rather finely rugoso-punctate, becoming relatively smooth posteriorly; dorsal area of propodeum coarsely striate laterally, the striae becoming indefinite medially except for a single complete median striae, posterior face only partially encircled by a salient rim, but the upper face sharply delimited from it, surface rather shallowly but coarsely reticulate, lateral faces irregularly roughened or substriate; wings whitish, veins and stigma pale yellow; tegulae testaceous-hyaline; legs piceous basally, tibiae more or less testaceous at base and apex, tarsi testaceous; abdominal terga shining, punctures quite distinct but very fine, evenly distributed, apical margins narrowly whitish-hyaline, becoming more broadly so on terga 4 and 5; apical margin of sternum 5 straight; median lobe of sternum 7 broadly expanded and abruptly truncate apically; gonostylus of armature as shown (fig. 102), retrorse lobe expansive, slightly broadened apically, finely short pubescent.

DISTRIBUTION�Minnesota to Nova Scotia, south to North Carolina; May to September.

FLOWER RECORDS�Apocynum, Barbarea, Chrysanthemum, Cucurbita, Potentilla, Rubus, Salvia, Solidago and Tarazacurit. Robertson (1929) records albipennis on Asclepias, Comandra, Erigeron, Houstonia, Krigia, Lepachys, Melilotus, Oenothera, Oxalis, Petalostemum, Radicula, Rudbeckia and Zizia.

Lasioglossum (Dialictus) albipenne (Robertson) Halictus albipennis Robertson, 1890: 317. ♀ ♂.

Lectotype. ♀ USA, Illinois, [Carlinville] (C. Robertson); [ANSP: 4251] designated herein. Examined.

Halictus nubilis Lovell, 1905a: 40. ♀.

Lectotype. ♀ USA, Maine, Waldoboro, 2.viii. (J.H. Lovell); [NMNH: 71570] designated herein. Examined.

Halictus (Chloralictus) lactineus Sandhouse, 1924: 34. ♀.

Holotype. ♀ USA, Colorado, Boulder, 4.viii.1908 (S.A. Rohwer); [NMNH: 26435]. Examined.

Halictus (Chloralictus) basilicus Sandhouse, 1924: 36. ♂.

Holotype. ♂ USA, Connecticut, Colebrook, 1�7.ix., (W.M. Wheeler); [NMNH: 26439]. Examined.

Taxonomy. Robertson, 1902b: Chloralictus albipennis, p. 249 (key); Viereck, 1916: Halictus (Chloralictus) albipennis, p. 707 (key); Michener, 1951: Lasioglossum (Chloralictus) albipenne, p. 1111, L. (C.) basilicum, p. 1112, L. (C.) lactineum, p. 1114 (catalogue); Mitchell, 1960: Dialictus albipennis ♀♂, p. 378, D. basilicus ♂, 383 (redescription); Knerer and Atwood, 1966a: Dialictus basilicus ♀, p. 881 (description); Krombein, 1967: Lasioglossum (Dialictus) albipenne, p. 462, L. (D.) basilicum, p. 462 (catalogue); Hurd, 1979: Dialictus albipennis, p. 1963, D. basilicus, p. 1964, D. lactineus, p. 1967 (catalogue); Moure & Hurd, 1987: Dialictus albipennis, p. 88, D. basilicus, p. 92, D. lactineus, p. 109 (catalogue); Gibbs, 2010b: Lasioglossum (Dialictus) albipenne ♀♂, p. 57 (redescription, key, synonymies).

Diagnosis. Female L. albipenne can be recognised by the following diagnostic combination: head and mesosoma bluish; wings white, pterostigma and venation pale yellow; hypostomal carinae parallel, unreflexed; mesoscutal punctures coarse, sparse between parapsidal lines (i=1�3d); mesepisternum coarsely reticulate-rugose; propodeum strongly carinate; T1 acarinarial fan large without dorsal opening; and metasomal terga brown with dense tomentum, distinctly punctures throughout. They are most similar to L. cressonii, L. disparile, and L. nymphaearum. Female L. cressonii have the head and mesosoma golden green, mesoscutal punctures relatively dense (i=1�1.5d) and wings faintly dusky. Female L. disparile have a distinct glabrate band on the declivitous surface of T1 separating the acarinarial fan from a dorsal hair band. Female L. nymphaearum have hypostomal carina reflexed distally and propodeal dorsal and posterior surfaces separated by uninterrupted transverse carina.

Male L. albipenne are similar to females except for the following: head elongate (length/width ratio = 0.99�1.08); face obscured by abundant white hairs; flagellomeres short (length/width ratio = 1.21�1.31), bright yellow ventrally; and mesepisternum punctate-reticulate. They are most similar to L. pruinosum and L. nymphaearum. Male L. pruinosum have the clypeus with distal yellow maculation. Male L. nymphaearum have tegula distinctly punctate.

Range. Nova Scotia west to British Columbia, south to North Carolina, Colorado and Oregon. USA: CO, CT, IL, IA, KS, MA, ME, MI, MN, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, SD, TN, VT, WI, WV. CANADA: AB, BC, MB, NB, NS, ON, PE, SK.

DNA Barcode. Available. Multiple sequences.

Comments. Common.

Variation in the strength of the female propodeal carinae can be seen in long series. Individuals with weaker carinae have been treated as separate species (Knerer & Atwood 1966a).

The specimen of Halictus albipennis indicated above is designated herein as the lectotype to ensure future stability in the application of the name. Some of Robertson�s syntype series include more than one species, which could potentially lead to taxonomic confusion. An invalid lectotype led Gibbs (2010b) to treat the name Halictus nymphaearum as a junior subjective synonymy of L. albipenne (for discussion see Gibbs 2010b, below). Other subjective synonymies have also recently been made (Gibbs 2010b). The specimen of Halictus nubilis indicated above is designated herein as the lectotype to ensure future stability in the application of the name.

Extracted from: Extracted from: Gibbs, J. 2010. Revision of the metallic species of Lasioglossum (Dialictus) in Canada (Hymenoptera, Halictidae, Halictini). York University, Department of Biology. Pp 1-382.

Diagnosis. Females of L. albipenne can be recognised by the diagnostic combination of a bluish green head and mesosoma, white wings with very pale yellow pterostigma and venation, coarse mesoscutal punctures which are sparse medially (i=1–3d), coarsely reticulate-rugose mesepisternum, strongly carinate propodeum, large and dense T1 acarinarial fan, and metasomal terga brown with dense tomentum and distinct punctures throughout. Females of this species are most similar to L. cressonii, L. disparile (Cresson), and L. oceanicum. Female L. cressonii are golden green on the head and mesosoma, have relatively dense mesoscutal punctures (i=1–1.5d) and faintly dusky wings. Female L. disparile have a distinct glabrate band on the declivitous surface of T1 separating the acarinarial fan from a dorsal pubescent band. Female L. oceanicum have a complete transverse carina separating the dorsal and posterior surfaces and distinctly reflexed hypostomal carina. Males of L. albipenne are similar to females but may be further distinguished by their elongate heads (length/width ratio = 0.99–1.08) with abundant white hairs obscuring the face, hyaline wings, relative short flagellomeres (length/width ratio = 1.21–1.31) which are bright yellow ventrally, and punctate-reticulate mesepisternum. Males of this species are most similar to L. pruinosum and L. oceanicum. Male L. pruinosum have a yellow apical maculation on the clypeus. Male L. oceanicum have a distinctly punctate tegula.

Redescription. FEMALE. Length 5.19–6.10 mm; head length 1.66–1.85 mm; head width 1.61–1.82 mm; forewing length 4.51–5.00 mm. Colouration. Head and mesosoma bluish green to green. Clypeus with apical half blackish brown, basal half and supraclypeal area brassy. Antenna dark brown, flagellum with ventral surface reddish to yellow orange. Tegula amber with inner margin dark brown. Wing membrane hyaline, venation and pterostigma pale yellow. Legs brown, protibial base amber, tarsi infused with reddish amber. Metasomal terga dark brown or blackish brown, apical impressed areas translucent amber.

Pubescence. Dull white. Relatively dense. Head and mesosoma with moderately dense woolly hairs (1–2 OD), longest on genal beard, metanotum and mesopleuron (2–2.5 OD). Paraocular area without tomentum. Gena without tomentum. Propodeum with plumose hairs on lateral and posterior surfaces (2–2.5 OD). Metasoma with dense, fine setae. T1 acarinarial fan large, complete, without dorsal opening, meeting erect transverse hair band at dorsal margin of declivitous surface. T2 basolaterally and T3–T4 extensively obscured by appressed tomentum. T2 apicolateral and T3–T4 apical margins with weak fringes.

Surface sculpture. Face imbricate, punctation strong. Clypeus polished, basal margin imbricate, punctation moderately sparse (i=1–2d). Supraclypeal and lower paraocular areas with punctation dense (i≤d). Antennocular area punctation moderately dense (i=0.5–1.5d). Upper paraocular area and frons reticulate-punctate. Ocellocular area punctate (i≤d). Gena and postgena striate. Mesoscutum weakly imbricate, submedial portion polished, punctation coarse, moderately sparse between parapsidal lines (i=1–3d), closer laterad of parapsidal line (i≤d), contiguous on anterolateral portion. Mesoscutellum imbricate, submedial area polished, coarsely punctate. Axilla punctate. Metanotum rugulose. Preëpisternum rugose. Hypoepimeral area ruguloso-reticulate. Mesepisternum strongly reticulate. Metepisternum with dorsal half rugoso-striate, ventral half imbricate. Metapostnotum coarsely rugoso-striate. Propodeum with dorsolateral slope and lateral and posterior surfaces rugulose. Metasoma polished, weakly coriarious on T1 declivitous surface and apical impressed areas, punctation close throughout (i=1–2d).

Structure. Head moderately elongate (length/width ratio = 1.00–1.03). Eyes convergent below (UOD/ LOD ratio = 1.19–1.26). Clypeus 2/3 below suborbital tangent, apicolateral margins convergent. Antennal sockets close (IAD/OAD < 0.5). Frontal line carinate, ending <2 OD below median ocellus. Gena narrower than eye. Inner metatibial spur pectinate with 3–4 teeth. Metapostnotum moderately elongate (MMR ratio = 1.23–1.36), posterior margin sharply angled onto posterior surface. Propodeum with oblique carina moderately strong, lateral carina moderately strong, reaching dorsal margin.

MALE. Similar to female except for the usual secondary sexual characters and as follows. Length 5.61– 6.85 mm; head length 1.54–1.85 mm; head width 1.43–1.72 mm; forewing length 3.97–4.58 mm.

Colouration. Head and mesosoma pale green. Flagellum with ventral surface yellow. Tibial bases and apices, and tarsi yellow. Pubescence. Face below level of eye emargination entirely obscured by dense, white appressed tomentum. S2–S3 apical halves and S4 lateral portion with moderately dense subappressed hairs (1.5 OD). Surface sculpture. Mesepisternum coarsely reticulate, becoming more distinctly punctate below. Dorsal surface of propodeum coarsely rugose. Lateral and posterior portions of propodeum coarsely rugose. Marginal zones impunctate. Structure. Head elongate (length/width ratio = 0.99–1.08). Eyes strongly convergent below (UOD/LOD ratio = 1.43–1.49). Clypeus 2/3–3/4 below suborbital tangent, apicolateral margins convergent. Antennal sockets distant (IAD/OAD > 1.1). Frontal line carinate, ending <2 OD below median ocellus. Pedicel longer than F1. F2 length 1.3–1.4X F1. F2–F10 short (length/width ratio = 1.21–1.31). Metapostnotum moderately elongate (MMR ratio = 1.20–1.29), posterior margin sharply angled onto posterior surface. Propodeum with oblique carina strong but obscure among sculpture, lateral carina strong. Terminalia. S7 with median lobe narrowly clavate, sides subparallel, apex rounded (Fig. 67F). S8 with apicomedial margin weakly convex (Fig. 67F). Genitalia as in Fig. 67D–E. Gonobase with ventral arms narrowly separated. Gonostylus small, dorsal setae elongate. Retrorse lobes narrow, weakly attenuated apically.

Range. Nova Scotia west to British Columbia, south to North Carolina, Colorado and Oregon (Fig. 65).

Floral records. APIACEAE: Zizia aurea, APOCYNACEAE: Apocynum androsaemifolium, ASTERACEAE: Antennaria neglecta, Anthemis cotula, Arnoglossum muehlenbergii, Conyza canadensis, Erigeron annuus, E. philadelphicus, E. strigosus, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Eurybia furcata, E. macrophyllum, Helianthus strumosus, Krigia biflora, Leucanthemum vulgare, Ratibida pinnata, Rudbeckia hirta, R. subtomentosa, Solidago canadensis, S. juncea, S. missouriensis, Symphyotrichum lanceolatum var. lanceolatum, Taraxacum, ASCLEPIADACEAE: Asclepias verticillata, BRASSICACEAE: Barbarea, Rorippa teres CUCURBITACEAE: Cucurbita, FABACEAE: Dalea candida var. oligophyllus, D. purpurea, Melilotus officinalis, GROSSULARIACEAE: Ribes, LAMIACEAE: Salvia, LILIACEAE: Allium canadense, A. cernum, Maianthemum racemosum, ONAGRACEAE: Oenothera fruticosa, OXALIDACEAE: Oxalis corniculata, O. violacea, ROSACEAE: Potentilla, Rubus, RUBIACEAE: Houstonia purpurea calycosa, SANTALACEAE: Comandra umbellata, SAXIFRAGACEAE: Mitella diphylla.

Extracted from: Sandhouse G. A. New North American Species of Bees Belonging to the Genus Halictus (Chloralictus). No. 2532 - Proceedings U.S. National Museum. Vol. 65, Art. 19.

In this excerpt, Lasioglossum albipenne is known as the now synonymized Halictus lactineus.

Male.—About 6 mm, long; head and thorax greenish blue; abdomen black; pubescence pure white. Facial quadrangle longer than broad; orbits converging slightly below; the entire face, clypeus and supraclj^peal area closely punctured; lower half of clypeus black; mandibles red at the apex; antennae dark, third joint longer than the second; flagellum rufo-testaceous beneath. Thorax densely pubescent; mesothorax somewhat polished, microscopically lineolate, very coarsely punctured, the punctures about the diameter of a puncture apart; the disk with more scattered punctures; scutellum closely punctured, with two large polished spots on the disk; disk of propodeum crescentic, shining, the plicae extending to the posterior margin which is sharply elevated; at the sides the plicae extend on to the lateral sides of the propodeum; mesopleurae with coarse shal- low punctures; truncation sharply defined laterally; tegulae honey color, impunctate. Abdomen ovate, apical margins of segments somewhat polished, narrowly testaceous; segments 1-3 delicately punctured, quite sparsely pubescent; segments 4-5 with piliferous punctures only, pubescence more abundant. Wings milky white; anterior wing 4.25 mm. long; stigma and nervures honey color; the second submarginal cell much higher than broad, receiving the first recurrent nervure very near the apex; third submarginal broad at the base, contracted above, at least twice as long as the second on the marginal. Legs black; knees, apices of tibiae and tarsi yellow.

Extracted from Halictus albipennis Robertson, 1890. Trans.Am. Ent.Soc.17, -p.317 - 318

Halictus albipennis. Female. Head and thorax greenish, abdomen brownish; clypeus produced; mesothorax coarsely and rather sparsely punctured, clothed with thin white pubescence; metathorax not sharply truncated, disc with longitudinal rouge, slightly elevated posteriorly; abdomen depressed, shinning. almost impunctate, apical margins of segments narrowly testacedus, the whole with whitish pubescence, except discs of first and second; wings white, hyaline, nervures very pale; tegulare honey-yellow. Length 5-6mm. Male. Resembles the female; mandibles at tips, antennae beneath, knees and tarsi, testaceous. Length 5mm.

Extracted from: Halictus nubiluls Lovell 1905 Jan. Ent. 87. P.40

Halictus nubilus, n. sp. Female- length 6.5 mm. Head and thorax green. with a brassy reflection. abdomen black, apical margins of segments broadly light brown. Head longer than wide, face finely and densely punctured. lower half clothed with a pale fulvous pubescence, clypeus purple. with a few coarse sparse punctures ; antenna: black, flagellum pale brown beneath. Thorax clothed with a short pale fulvous pubescence ; mesothorax sparsely and rather coarsely punctured ; metathorax sharply truncate, disc bluish-green, coarsely rugose, rugae extending to posterior margin, at each superior lateral angle there is a salient rim extending a short distance each way, centre emarginate ; truncation grooved, pubescent. Wings hyaline, clouded with white. nervures light yellow, tegula• impunctate, piceous. Abdomen without punctures, shinning, the extreme sides of first and second segments and apical segments entirely coveted with rather dense fulvous pubescence.

Extracted from: Halictus (Chloralictus) basilicus Sandhouse 1924. Proc.U.S.N.M.65, Art.19 p. 36 - 37

Male.—About 5.5—6 mm. long; head and thorax blue-green; abdomen black; pubescence white. Facial quadrangle considerably longer than broad; orbits converging sharply below; entire face closely punctured and clothed with dense pubescence; antennae dark, second and third joints of equal length; flagellum testaceous beneath; lower half of clypeus black. Thorax with quite dense, short hairs; mesothorax shining, with faint microscopic lineolutions, coarsely and deeply punctured, the punctures about twice as far apart on the disk; punctation of the scutellum sintilar to that of the mesothorax, two large, shining spots on the disk; disk of propodeum subcrescentie, shining, with coarse, irregular rugae extending over the margin and covering the sides of propodeum: mesopleurae with course, shallow punctures; truncation sharply defined laterally; tegulae honey color, impunctate. Abdomen ovate, shining, very sparsely pubescent; segments 1—2 delicately punctured; apical margins of segments polished, dark testaceous. Wings clear; anterior wing 4 mm. long; stigma and nervures very pale testnceons; second submarginal cell considerably higher than broad, receiving the first recurrent nervure near the apex; third submarginal higher than broad, about twice ns .03 long as the second on marginal, receiving the second recurrent nervure near the apex. Legs shining, black, with moderately close hairs; knees, tips of tibiae, and tarsi yellow.

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