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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.
Florilegus closely resembles Melissodes and may be mistaken for it. The mandibles, however, have a subapical inner angle or tooth in both sexes, and the maxillary palpi are 5-segmented. The clypeus is black and slightly separated from the margin of the eye in the female, while in the male it is yellow and practically contiguous with the eye margin. The scopa is finely plumose. Sternum 7 in the male is distinctive, having a median longitudinal ridge, the apex produced somewhat beyond the margin of the plate. Tergum 6 is distinctly angulate on each side at the base, and tergum 7 is spinose laterally, the pygidial plate entire, the lateral margins not notched.
Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152.
FEMALE—Length 11-12 mm., breadth of abdomen 4-5 mm.; black, mandibles with an obscure, median, testaceous maculation; median segments of flagella brownish beneath, black above; legs blackish, apical tarsal segments becoming brownish-testaceous, mid and hind spurs pale testaceous; tegulae brownish-hyaline; wings uniformly but very lightly infuscated, veins testaceous to piceous; rims of abdominal terga very narrowly yellowish-hyaline; cheeks much narrower than eyes; clypeus slightly protuberant, its median length half the distance between eyes below; eyes very slightly convergent below; mandibles simple, rather short; basal segment of flagellum slightly longer than segments 2 and 3 combined; punctures of clypeus coarse, deep and slightly separated along upper margin, becoming rather fine and densely crowded apically; median length of labrum considerably less than breadth, apical margin broadly truncate, surface finely and closely punctate; supraclypeal area somewhat shining between rather coarse and close punctures; lateral areas of face below level of antennae minutely and closely punctate, surface above more shining, the punctures somewhat deeper, more distinct and definitely separated, the more median punctures rather coarse; cheeks rather dull, very finely and closely punctate beneath the quite dense pubescence; scutum shining, punctures quite coarse and deep, rather sparse medially toward posterior margin, becoming rather close and somewhat finer laterally, somewhat separated medially to the anterior margin; scutellum shining, punctures very fine and rather widely separated; pleura rather dull, punctures coarse, deep and quite close; posterior face of propodeum somewhat shining, punctures quite deep and distinct, irregularly scattered, dorsal area polished and impunctate below, becoming rather coarsely rugoso-punctate along upper margin, lateral faces dull, very finely and densely punctate; abdominal terga well punctured nearly to the rims, only the very narrow apical margins impunctate, punctures well separated in general, becoming somewhat closer toward lateral margins, apical impressed areas somewhat more minutely punctate than basal areas, those on terga 4 and 5 densely crowded at least laterally; pygidium subtriangular, apex rather narrowly rounded; pubescence rather copious on head and thorax, whitish on face and cheeks, with some elongate fuscous hairs across vertex, but this fringed posteriorly with whitish hairs; scutum and scutellum largely blackish pubescent, but with some pale hairs along anterior and lateral margins, and scutello-mesothoracic suture narrowly but quite densely pale tomentose; pleura and lateral faces of propodeum fuscous or blackish pubescent in general, but a few pale hairs on pleura above; posterior face of propodeum pale pubescent; legs largely fuscous pubescent basally, the front and mid tibiae with some basal pale pubescence on outer face, their tarsi brownish pubescent beneath; hind tibial scopa pale yellowish, hairs rather sparsely plumose; basal abdominal tergum with intermixed dark and light hairs basally, disc with shorter, suberect, black pubescence which is rather conspicuous if viewed in profile; tergum 2 with a basal, whitish, tomentose band, largely covered by the preceding tergum, disc otherwise with very short, black, suberect pubescence; tergum 3 black pubescent across base, with a median, rather broad, whitish tomentose fascia that is somewhat narrowed or interrupted medially, the impressed apical area largely blackish pubescent; tergum 4 blackish pubescent across base, with some whitish tomentum medially adjacent to the apical impressed area, this densely pale tomentose on each side, bare medially; tergum 5 largely black pubescent, but with a whitish patch on each extreme side, apical fimbria rather short and more fuscous.
MALE—Length 9.5-12.5 mm., breadth of abdomen 3.5-5 mm.; black, the clypeus bright yellow, labrum and mandibles largely black but mandibles with an apical testaceous maculation; antennal flagella brownish-testaceous beneath, piceous above; legs dark, tarsal segments becoming brownish-testaceous apically, mid and hind spurs pale yellowish; tegulae brownish; wings very faintly infuscated, veins brownish to piceous; rims of abdominal terga very narrowly yellowish-hyaline; cheeks considerably narrower than eyes; clypeus slightly protuberant, its median length somewhat greater than half the distance between eyes below; eyes rather strongly convergent below; mandibles with a small, inner, subapical tooth or angle; basal segment of flagellum slightly longer than pedicel, segment 2 about five times longer than shorter side of the 1st; punctures of clypeus quite coarse, deep and somewhat separated along upper margin, becoming more finely and closely punctate apically; median length of labrum considerably less than breadth, rather broadly rounded, slightly emarginate medially, punctures fine, close and deep; supraclypeal area rather dull, punctures irregular but rather well separated; lateral areas of face below antennae dull, very finely and closely punctate, dorsal areas more shining, punctures somewhat coarser, deep and distinct; cheeks very finely and closely punctate beneath rather dense pubescence; scutum shining between quite coarse and deep punctures, these somewhat separated posteriorly near mid-line, closer laterally and anteriorly; scutellum shining, somewhat more finely but uniformly closely punctate; pleura dull, tessellate, punctures rather coarse and close; posterior face of propodeum shining, punctures rather fine but deep and close, dorsal area polished below, becoming rather coarsely, deeply punctate across upper margin, lateral faces rather dull, punctures shallow but very close and rather fine; abdominal terga well punctured throughout, punctures quite coarse and deep but well separated on the more basal terga, becoming much finer and closer laterally, punctures of apical impressed areas only slightly finer than those toward base, somewhat finer and much closer on the more apical terga, being crowded and very fine laterally on 3-6; tergum 6 with a conspicuous apical angle at each extreme side, and tergum 7 with a corresponding, more slender spine; pubescence copious, elongate and quit dense on head and thorax, largely pale ochraceous on head, scutum with considerably fuscous pubescence across posterior half, and a few shorter dark hairs on scutellum medially, otherwise thorax largely pale ochraceous pubescent; legs entirely pale pubescent; basal abdominal tergum with copious, elongate, pale ochraceous pubescence across base, disc with shorter but erect and quite conspicuous black pubescence; tergum 2 with a dense, whitish, basal fascia that is covered in part by the preceding tergum, the disc black pubescent; tergum 3 black pubescent across base, with a quite broad and dense, median, whitish fascia, the apical impressed area black pubescent; tergum 4 with rather copious, elongate and erect, black pubescence, with a dense whitish fascia on each side which is narrowly connected across the disc with some obscure pale tomentum, the median area of the impressed margin black pubescent; tergum 5 broadly white pubescent apically on each side of mid-line, disc with long, erect, black pubescence; terga 6 and 7 entirely black pubescent; median length of pygidial plate somewhat greater than basal width, margins carinate, rather strongly converging to the rather broad, subtruncate apex; sterna 7 and 8 and genital armature as shown (fig. 78).
DISTRIBUTION—Colorado to New Jersey, south to Texas and Florida, May to August, but with early and late records in April and September in Florida.
FLOWER RECORDS — Melilotus and Pontederia. Recorded by Robertson (1929) on Asciepias, Blephilia, Cassia, Cephalanthus, Dianthera, Lippia, Lythrum, Psoralea, Pycnanthemum, Teucriurn and Verbena.
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