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 9 mm.; black; pubescence yellowish, rather copious on thorax, becoming somewhat paler below; length and breadth of head equal; clypeus moderately convex, projecting somewhat more than one-half below suborbital line; eyes very slightly convergent below; cheeks subequal to eyes in width; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes and margin vertex; punctures quite close, deep and distinct above antennae, becoming somewhat more shallow and indistinct below, area between eyes and ocelli shining, punctures minute and quite sparse, vertex becoming more rugose, and cheeks rugoso-striate; scutum shining between close and rather fine punctures, these becoming crowded laterally; pleura more rugose; dorsal area of propodeum rather coarsely and quite regularly striate; wings subhyaline, veins and stigma pale ferruginous; tegulae blackish to piceous, anterior margin more hyaline; legs entirely dark, hind basitibial plate rather narrowly triangular, acute; abdominal terga shining, punctures quite deep and distinct but very fine, rather sparse on basal segment, becoming progressively closer on the more apical segments, terga 2 and 3 with dense, basal, white fasciae, discal pubescence, short, thin, suberect, more brownish.
MALE—Length 6-8 mm.; black, apical third of clypeus pale yellow; pubescence yellowish above, becoming rather dense and white over most of face, and somewhat whitened on thorax below; length and breadth of head about equal (similar to athabascense, fig. 86); clypeus very slightly convex, projecting somewhat more than one-half below suborbital line; eyes sub parallel; mandibles slender and elongate; labrum quite short, but very slightly produced medially; cheeks considerably broader than eyes; lateral ocelli slightly nearer eyes than to margin of vertex; basal segment of flagellum slightly longer than pedicel, following segments somewhat longer, piceous; punctures above antennae close, deep and distinct, becoming very minute and obscure below and quite variable and more widely separated between eyes and ocelli where surface is shining, vertex obscurely rugose, cheeks above obscurely striate, becoming quite distinctly punctate and shining below; scutum shining, punctures deep and distinct, rather fine, crowded laterally; pleura rather coarsely rugose; dorsal area of propodeum quite coarsely and regularly striate, posterior face conspicuously carinate laterally; wings subhyaline, veins and stigma pale ferruginous; tegulae brownish-piceous, with a rather broad anterior and outer hyaline rim; legs almost entirely black, only the apical tarsal segments becoming reddish; abdominal terga shining, punctures fine but quite deep and distinct, rather sparse basally, becoming progressively closer apically, segments 2-4 with rather conspicuous basal, white fasciae; apical margin of sternum 5 quite straight, 6 shining, apical margin subtruncate; apical margin of tergum 7 rather strongly reflexed on each side; gonostylus simple, rather short, slightly dilated to the abruptly truncate apex; no ventral, retrorse lobe evident.
DISTRIBUTION—Holarctic, in Eastern North America ranging from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, through the New England states, New York, Michigan and Wisconsin; May to October.
FLOWER RECORDS—Aralia, Iris and Taraxacum. Recorded by Brittain and Newton (1933 and 1934) (in part, as Halictus craterus on the following: Achillea, Brassica, Chrysanthemum, Cichorium, Cirsium, Epilobium, Hieracium, Leontodon, Lychnis, Pyrus malus, Rosa, Senecio, Solidago, Sonchus, Spergula, Trifolium and Viburnum.
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