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Overview | |
The following material taken with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962. Bees of the Eastern United States, Volume II. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. Tech. Bul. No.152, 557 p.
Ericrocis more nearly resembles Xeromelecta than any of the other parasitic Anthophoridae. The species are probably parasitic on Centris, but are of very rare occurrence in the eastern United States. The abdomen is sharply acute at apex, and lacks the pseudopygidial area found in many other parasites. In this it resembles Melecta and Xeromelecta, but differs from both in having a much elongated marginal cell. In the male the abdomen has no pygidial plate, and the mid tibial spurs are blunt apically, to some degree emarginate or bifurcate. In the pubescence these bear a strong resemblance to Xeromelecta, having very similar patterns of pale tomentose bands or spots on the abdominal terga.
FEMALE—Length 11 mm., breadth of abdomen 4 mm.; black, antennae piceous beneath, black above, apical tarsal segments becoming more piceous, mid and hind spurs brownish-testaceous; tegulae yellowish-hyaline, very large, broadly rounded or subtruncate posteriorly; wings pale brownish basally, becoming quite deeply infuscated toward apical margin, veins brownish to piceous; cheeks much narrower than eyes; clypeus quite flat. its median length about half the distance between eyes below; eyes slightly convergent below (fig. 118); mandibles with a slight, inner, subapical angle; basal segment of flagellum slightly shorter than segment 2, median segments very slightly longer than broad; mid tibial spurs deeply incised just before apex; scutellum deeply grooved; punctures over median and lower parts of face and on cheeks fine and close beneath dense pubescence, face and vertex above shining and bare, punctures relatively coarse, deep and sparse, becoming close and fine along margin of vertex; scutum with a deep, median, longitudinal sulcus; punctures of scutellum, and of scutum medially and posteriorly, extremely minute and close, densely crowded, becoming more coarse and distinctly separated toward sides anteriorly; pleura quite coarsely punctate, closely so above, beneath dense pubescence, the lower exposed area with coarse, - irregular punctures that are to some degree separated, interspaces shining; lateral faces of propodeum largely bare and shining, punctures shallow but rather close, obsolescent below; punctures of abdominal terga uniformly microscopic and densely crowded, surface becoming almost tessellate rather than punctate; pygidium rather indefinite, its median length slightly less than basal width, margins subcarinate, surface quite coarsely punctate toward base, becoming smooth and shining apically, apex subacute; median area of face around antennae densely covered with short but copious, whitish or golden pubescence, lower half of face, cheeks, and vertex in part, black pubescent; area below ocelli largely bare, vertex fringed posteriorly with lighter pubescence; upper part of pleura quite densely ochraceous pubescent, and propodeum with an area of dense, elongate, ochraceous pubescence behind wing bases; scutum anteriorly with some brownish pubescence on each side and in median sulcus, these separated by a narrow area of more fuscous pubescence, the posterior two-thirds, axillae and clypeus with very short, subappressed, fuscous tomentum, propodeum medially with some erect, black pubescence; lower portion of pleura with very short, black pubescence which does not obscure surface, and legs largely black pubescent, but tibiae with a basal area of ochraceous ‘pubescence on outer face; basal abdominal tergum broadly yellow tomentose on each side, this area rather broadly rounded and rather widely separated medially; apical impressed areas of terga 2-5 yellow tomentose on each side, these areas widely separated medially but connected by a broad, lateral, continuous band, those on tergum 2 extended for some distance obliquely toward midline; discs of terga otherwise densely black tomentse, contrasting sharply with the yellow tomentose areas; tergum 6 with rather sparse, erect, black bristles.
MALE—Length 12 mm., breadth of abdomen 4 mm.; black, antennae piceous, apical tarsal segments becoming piceous, and mid and hind spurs brownish-piceous; tegulae yellowish-hyaline, very large, broadly rounded posteriorly; wings lightly infuscated basally, becoming quite deeply so apically, veins brownish to piceous; cheeks nearly equal to eyes in width; clypeus rather strongly protuberant, its median length about half the distance between eyes below; eyes slightly convergent below; mandibles rather slender, with a slight, inner, subapical angle; shorter side of basal segment of flagellum subequal to segment 2, median segments about as broad as long; mid tibial spur as in female; scutum with a deep, median sulcus, the scutellum deeply grooved medially; puncturation of head and thorax much as in female; puncturation of abdominal terga 1-4 as in female, but terga 5-7 becoming more coarsely, distinctly and closely punctate; apical margin of tergum 7 slightly incised medially; pubescence of face quite dense and copious but rather short, largely yellow, with an obscure fringe of black hairs on clypeus laterally, labrum entirely black; median length of labrum slightly greater than half the breadth, margin truncate medially; cheeks black pubescent; vertex largely ochraceous pubescent, but with some dark hairs around ocelli and toward upper end of eyes; pubescence of thorax and legs much as in female, but scutellum with a rather 4istinct band of short, ochraceous pubescence on each side; lateral, yellow tomentose areas of basal abdominal tergum narrowly rounded at inner end, nearly meeting; apical impressed areas of terga 2-5 yellow tomentose as in female, but bands less widely separated medially, those or 5 more whitish, discal pubescence very short and black as in female; sterna 7 and 8 and genital armature as shown (fig. 120).
DISTRIBUTION—Southern California to Florida, May or June.
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Identification | |
The following material taken with permission from: Roy R. Snelling and Thomas J. Zavotink. A Revision of the Cleptoparasitic Bee Genus Ericrocis (Hymenoptera:Anthophoridae. THE WASMANN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY 42(1-2), 1984, pp. 1-26 Diagnosis.—Both sexes with thorax pale pubescent beneath and meso-and metatibiae with apical external patch of pale pubescence; female mes-episternum irregularly punctate, with more or less extensive smooth areas; male fifth sternite without dense fringe of long, dark hairs whose apices are curled ventrad. Description.—Female. Measurements: Head width 3.44-4.36; head length 2.46-3.03; wing length 8.0-12.0; total length 9.0-15.0 mm. Head broad, HW 1.37-1.52 times HL; inner eye margins strongly diver¬gent above, upper interorbital distance 1.25-1.36 times lower interorbital distance. Interantennal distance about 1.6 times transverse diameter of an¬tennal socket; antennocular distance about 1.4 times transverse diameter of antennal socket. Ocellocular distance about 2.1 times transverse diameter of anterior ocellus; ocelloccipital distance about 1.3 times transverse di¬ameter of anterior ocellus. Antennal scape stout, apex much broader than base, distal width about 0.4 times length; first flagellar segment, on its shortest side, a little shorter than apical width, and about 0.85-0.90 times length of second segment, which is about as long as wide and slightly shorter than third or fourth; middle flagellar segments slightly longer than broad. Gena in profile much narrower than broadest part of eye. Labrum contiguously rugosopunctate. Disc of clypeus with dense, minute (less than 0.025 mm diam.) punctures and scattered moderate punctures, punctures coarser laterad and apicad; interspaces shiny. Side of face shiny between dense, moderate punctures; frons polished between moderate punc¬tures, dense below and becoming sparse near ocelli; ocellocular area shiny between scattered to sparse moderate punctures and sparse minute punc¬tures; gena shiny, punctures minute and close near eye margin; moderate and dense to close near posterior margin. Thorax.—Mesoscutal disc moderately shiny between dense minute punc¬tures and scattered moderate punctures, punctures moderate and subcon-tiguous near parapsidal line, and becoming moderate and dense anteriorly. Dorsum of scutellum similar to mesoscutal disc, punctures less distinct and more separated on posterior face. Metanotum shiny between dense to close minute punctures. Upper plate of mesepisternum mostly polished and im-punctate; disc of mesepisternum rugosopunctate above, becoming punctate below, punctures moderate to very coarse, interspaces variable in extent, polished. Metapleuron polished between obscure, moderate to coarse, close punctures. Basal area of propodeum slightly shiny and minutely roughened anteriorly, becoming shiny and very obscurely roughened distad; anterior portion of lateral face shiny and with a few obscure, fine punctures; area above and behind spiracle, continuing onto posterior face, shiny between moderate, subcontiguous punctures. Legs robust, mesofemur about 2.3 times longer than thick; metafemur about 2.4 times longer than thick, dorsal face arcuate, ventral face flat; mesotibial spur parallel sided, apex bifurcate, an¬terior tooth short, one or more intercalary teeth sometimes present; metatibia claviform, about 2.5 times longer than wide; prodistitarsus slender, flat ventrally; meso- and metadistitarsi stouter, with thick ventral ridge on basal one-half. Abdomen.—First to fifth tergites, beneath pubescence, moderately shiny between subcontiguous minute punctures and scattered fine punctures; sixth tergite shiny beneath pubescence, punctures subcontiguous, moderate to coarse; pygidial plate shiny and impunctate in large part, apex narrowly rounded. Integument color.—Generally reddish brown to brown, sometimes black; mandible usually reddish, black distally; flagellum usually reddish beneath, often with pedicel and first two flagellar segments reddish above; tegula yellowish brown. Forewing moderately to strongly infuscated, marginal cell and distal margin darker; stigma reddish brown, veins darker, especially posteriorly and distally. Pubescence concealing surface, long, dense and mostly pale on head and thorax; prostrate, or nearly so, on most areas, erect on occipital and genal margins and on anterior one-third of mesoscutum; irregularly suberect or erect elsewhere on head and thorax. Mesoscutum with anterior patch of suberect tawny hairs on each side. Vertex and posterior two-thirds of meso-scutum with appressed minute blackish pubescence. The following blackish pubescent: mandible; labrum; lower portion of gena; a few hairs anteriorly and laterally on clypeus; a few in front of pale occipital hairs; most of pronotum other than collar; pair of submedian anterior spots on mesoscu-tum; axilla; pair of submedian longitudinal stripes on scutellum (often ex¬tensive); submedian spots on metanotum; lower one-half, or less, of mes-episternum (sparse); posterior one-half, approximately, of propodeal disc. Legs mostly blackish pubescent, pale as follows: ventral and anterior por¬tions of meso- and metacoxae; meso- and metatrochanters ventrally; basal one-third to one-half and sometimes apex of protibia externally; large, ex¬ternal, subbasal patch on meso- and metatibiae; metatibia (and usually meso-tibia) with apical external whitish to tawny patch; outer face of meso- and metabasitarsi sometimes with appressed yellow-brown pubescence. Abdominal surface concealed beneath very short scaliform hairs, both black and white, with sparse, long, suberect simple hairs which are concol-orous with areas from which they arise; pubescence largely black; dorsum of first tergite with large broadly separated lateral spots, which do not attain apical margin except at extreme side; second tergite with large lateral patch which is obliquely extended mesad away from margin; third and fourth tergites similar but inner extension shorter and broader, continuous with margin; fifth tergite similar but patch sometimes not attaining margin except at side; last segment black pubescent; sternites almost entirely very dark brownish pubescent, but with traces of a median longitudinal stripe often present on one or more segments as narrow pale spots; irregular lateral patches of pale pubescence sometimes present. MALE. Measurements: head width 3.33-4.26; head length 2.36-3.08; wing length 8.5-13.0; total length 10.0-15.0 mm. Agrees with above description of female in details of punctation, color and general pattern of pubescence, but forewing lighter, hyaline to moder¬ately infuscated with marginal cell and distal margin darker; tawny pubescent patches on mesoscutum absent; pale patches of meso- and metatibiae some¬times connected by stripe along posterior margin; and sternites of abdomen usually wholly dark pubescent except for small, median, pale spot on apical margin of first sternite. Seventh tergite broadly bilobate. Apical margin of fourth sternite broadly, shallowly concave, with a dense fringe of long, dark hairs whose apices are weakly curled ventrad, especially those laterad; fifth sternite similar, but distal hairs shorter, wholly prostrate.
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Names | |
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Natural history | |
Floral hosts used by this species in the the San Bernardino Valley (31o 19’N, 109o 15’ W) in northeastern Sonora, Mexico and southeastern Arizona, USA are listed at www.rochester.edu/College/BIO/labs/Minckley/minckley_table.php.
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Links to other sites | |
www.rochester.edu/College/BIO/labs/Minckley/minckley_table.php
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Updated: 2024-04-19 15:46:21 gmt
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