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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.
Bees in the genus Melecta are rather robust parasites in the nests of Anthophora, and they bear a superficial resemblance to the host species. The marginal cell is very short, not reaching beyond the outer limits of the 3rd submarginal cell. The maxillary palpi have 5 or 6 segments. The inner ramus of the tarsal claws is long and slender. Species of Melecta differ conspicuously from those in Xeromelecta in lacking any ornamentation of the abdominal terga, with pale tomentose bands or spots.
FEMALE—Length 12-13 mm., breadth of abdomen 5-5.5 mm.; entirely black, including antennae, mandibles, legs, spurs and tegulae; wings subhyaline at base, becoming lightly infuscated apically, veins brownish to piceous; cheeks about as broad as• eyes; clypeus strongly protuberant, its median length somewhat less than half the distance between eyes below; eyes very slightly convergent below; mandibles with a robust, inner, submedian tooth (fig. 118); labrum strongly reflexed at sides, its median length only slightly less than basal width, apical margin subtruncate medially; basal segment of flagellum somewhat longer than segment 2, median segments slightly longer than broad; scutellum bibbed, the lobes acute but hardly spinose apically; punctures densely crowded over most of head and thorax, somewhat more distinct on clypeus, apical margin narrowly shining and impunctate, and labrum shining, with irregular, scattered and rather vague punctures; abdominal terga smooth and somewhat shining, punctures exceedingly minute, well separated on basal tergum but becoming progressively closer on the more apical terga, becoming quite densely crowded on terga 4 and 5; pygidium very narrow and elongate, narrowly rounded apically; pubescence bright ochraceous to almost fulvous on scutum, scutellum, prothoracic tubercles and across pronotum, the vertex with some pale ochraceous pubescence posteriorly, otherwise head and thorax with copious and elongate black pubescence, and legs entirely black pubescent; basal abdominal tergum with some elongate and rather copious pubescence anteriorly, this usually black but with an intermixture of pale hairs in some specimens, the following terga with rather dense but fine, suberect, black pubescence that does not hide the surface, hairs becoming somewhat more elongate laterally on the more apical terga.
MALE—Length 12 mm., breadth of abdomen 5 mm.; entirely black, including antennae, mandibles, legs, spurs and tegulae; wings subhyaline basally, becoming lightly infuscated apically, veins piceous; cheeks slightly broader than eyes; clypeus strongly protuberant, its median length somewhat greater than half the distance between eyes below; eyes very slightly convergent below; labrum quite strongly reflexed laterally, median length only slightly less than the breadth, apical margin subtruncate medially; mandibles with a robust, inner, subapical tooth; basal segment of flagellum subequal to segment 2, following segments about the same length, very slightly longer than broad; scutellum strongly bibbed, the lobes angulate but hardly spinose; entire thorax, and head in large part, very finely and densely punctate; clypeus somewhat more distinctly punctate apically, the margin shining; labrum shining, with irregular, more or less separated punctures; vertex somewhat more coarsely but closely punctate; abdominal terga somewhat shining, punctures exceedingly minute, slightly separated on the more basal terga, becoming progressively closer laterally and on the more apical terga; tergum 7 ending in a quite narrow process which is slightly emarginate; scutum and scutellum densely covered with long, copious, pale ochraceous pubescence, tubercles with a fringe of pale hairs, pronotum in large part and vertex posteriorly pale pubescent; head and thorax otherwise with copious and elongate black pubescence, legs entirely black pubescent; basal abdominal tergum with considerable erect and rather copious, largely black pubescence anteriorly, following terga rather densely covered with very short, erect, black pubescence which does not hide surface; sterna 7 and 8 and genital armature as shown (fig.117).
DISTRIBUTION—Kansas to New Jersey, south to Alabama and Georgia, March to May.
FLOWER RECORDS—Robertson (1929) records this species (as Bombomelecta thoracica) on Fragaria, Lithospermum and Pentstemon.
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