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 greenish, abdomen piceous, maculae yellowish; length of face slightly greater than distance between eyes above; eyes very slightly convergent below; cheeks narrower than eyes; vertex rounded, hind margin indefinite, lateral ocelli at top of head, slightly nearer eyes than to each other; foveae elongate, quite deep and distinct; mandibles yellowish, reddened apically; clypeus yellow in large part, or piceous except for a median, elongate, yellow stripe and obscure infusions of yellow apically toward the sides; lateral facial maculae elongate, narrowly acute above, terminated at lower end of foveae; scape yellow anteriorly, flagellum brownish above, yellowish beneath; surface of head shining, punctures sparse and exceedingly minute; pubescence of head and thorax rather short and thin, entirely whitish; anterior margin of pronotum yellow, posterior margin with a pair of narrow, lateral maculae, and tubercles yellow, thorax otherwise greenish; tegulae yellowish-hyaline; wings whitish hyaline, veins and stigma nearly colorless and very obscure, stigma margined with pale brownish; coxae, trochanters and femora entirely dark, hind tibiae largely dark, mid tibiae dark posteriorly, yellow anteriorly, front tibiae largely yellow, with a dark posterior stripe, tarsi and spurs entirely yellow; scutum and scutellum polished, with sparse and very minute punctures, pleura less shining, with closer and quite obscure punctures; abdominal terga 1-4 with transverse, lateral maculae, these only slightly interrupted medially, the terga smooth and somewhat shining, punctures evident only on the more apical segments.
MALE—Length 5 mm.; head and thorax greenish, abdomen piceous, maculae yellowish; length of face slightly greater than distance between eyes; eyes subparallel; cheeks narrower than eyes, lacking tubercles; vertex rounded, hind margin indefinite, ocelli located at top of head, slightly nearer eyes than to each other; foveae short, rounded, located near top of eye; mandibles, labrum, scape and entire face below level of antennae, yellow; flagellum brownish above, yellow beneath; cheeks and maculated areas of head smooth and shining, with minute, rather sparse but quite distinct punctures, upper greenish portion of face rather dull, without distinct punctures; pubescence of head and thorax quite thin, entirely white; tubercles and posterior margin of pronotum yellow; pleura with a yellow anterior spot just posterior to front coxae; tegulae yellowish-hyaline; wings whitish-hyaline, veins nearly colorless and very obscure, stigma whitish, margined with brown; hind tibiae brownish posteriorly and hind femora with a brown apical spot, legs otherwise entirely yellowish; scutum and scutellum polished, with minute and rather sparse punctures; pleura rather dull, punctures more obscure; abdominal terga 2-5 with transverse, basal maculae, these not or only slightly interrupted medially; discs of the more basal terga smooth but rather dull, punctures hardly evident, those of the more apical terga somewhat more shining, with rather sparse but more distinct, minute punctures evident; apical margin of sternum 6 slightly incurved; sternum 7 with a broad and deep, median, rounded emargination; apical margin of sternum 8 deeply incurved, broad, only slightly narrower than greatest width of plate; gonostyli rather short, somewhat acute, apically compressed, considerably exceeded by the slender penis valves; volsellae very slender and elongate, nearly equalling gonostyli in length and deeply incised to form a distinct digitus and cuspis.
DISTRIBUTION—New Jersey to Florida; March to May.
FLOWER RECORDS — Batodendron, Crataegus, hex, Nyssa, Pyracantha and Sarracenia flava. Also recorded in literature on Hydrocotyle.
There is a close resemblance between bradleyi and obscurata Cresson. Both sexes may be separated easily if the proboscis is visible, the glossa and labial palpi being short in bradleyi, much elongated in obscurata. In bradleyi the glossa is little more than twice as long as its greatest width. That of obscurata is several times longer than broad.
|
