|
Extracted from: Timberlake P.H., (1962). A Revisional Study of the Bees of the Genus Perdita F. Smith, with Special Reference to the Fauna of the Pacific Coast (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) Part V. University of California Publications in Entomology Editors, Volume 28, No. 1, pp. 1-124. This little-known species was collected from flowers of Mentzelia in New Mexico, and agrees with other species found on the same flower in habitus and general features of coloration. The female differs from P. mentzeliae Cockerell in having the cheeks broadly white and the lateral face marks reaching the upper end of the f oveae on the orbits. The male has much yellow on the thorax, including the notum.
Female.—Head and thorax black, becoming slightly greenish on face above antennae; cheeks broadly almost to summit of eyes, and narrowly triangular lateral face marks, yellowish white; lateral marks abruptly constricted at lower end of foveae and continuing between them and margin of eyes to upper end of foveae. Collar of pronotum, band on hind border of disk (slightly interrupted at middle), and tubercles, yellowish white. Abdomen blackish; narrow white band, not reaching lateral margins, at base of tergites 2 and 3; two small suffused whitish spots at summit of basad declivity of tergite 1. Legs dark brown; trochanters, apex of front and middle femora more broadly in front and with a streak extending nearly to base along upper margin, front tibiae, front and middle tarsi, and anterior side of middle tibiae, pale yellow. Antennae fuscous, flagellum yellowish brown beneath, scape whitish on underside at base. Tegulae testaceous hyaline, base yellowish white. Wings nulky hyaline, nervures dilute yellowish, subcosta and stigma more yellowish, inner margin of stigma slightly brownish.
Head as broad as long; clypeus large, convex, and prominent. Facial foveae well impressed, somewhat broader at anterior end than interval between them and eyes and reaching from slightly below level of antenna! sockets nearly two-thirds of distance to level of anterior ocellus.
Mandibles as in mentzeliae; proboscis moderately short. Pterostigma large, but not equaling width of first submarginal cell; part of marginal cell beneath stigma equal to part beyond. Pygidial plate plane, rather narrowly rounded at apex. Face and thorax minutely tessellate and moderately dull, mesonotum duller than frons, face below antennae shinier, clypeus almost polished. Puncturation of face and mesonotum very fine and sparse; large area on posterior middle of mesoscutum impunctate. Pubescence fine and sparse on face and mesonotum; anterior half of scutum with short erect hair, posterior half nude. Length: 5.5 mm.; anterior wing, 4 mm.
Male.—Head bright yellow; occiput and vertex black with a slight greenish tinge. Yellow on lower edge of cheeks extending beyond summit of eyes, but summits encompassed by dark color or vertex extending broadly outward on each side. Yellow of face almost touching anterior ocellus, with upper margin straight and transverse. Mandibles, except red tips and labrum, yellow, but proboscis brown. Prothorax entirely yellow except for brown band on notum behind collar. Eemainder of thorax yellow beneath and on sides, except for broad blackish band extending from beneath tegula to middle coxa, and large quadrate slightly greenish dark patch on each side of mesopectus. Lateral margins of mesoscutum yellow (more broadly anteriorly); posterior third of broad median area on disk extending forward about two-thirds of length, clear yellow, area then shading to brown, except a marginal streak of clear yellow on each side. Scutellar area except dark depression on each side of disk, short transverse streak on metanotum, and short longitudinal streak on basal middle of propodeum, yellow. Dorsum of thorax otherwise black, tinged with blue green on propodeum and slightly tinged with green on anterior border of meso-scutum. Abdomen yellow; tergite 1 entirely brownish fuscous; tergite 2 dark around border, enclosing a yellow baud; following tergites, except last, each with successively paler brown bands at base and apex, that at apex of tergite 6 very faint and narrow. Legs yellow, except for pale-brown spot near apex of hind femora above, and brown streak on outer side of hind tibiae. Antennae yellow; pedicel, and flagellum above, pale brown. Tegulae and wings as in female.
Head very large, quadrate, and much broader than thorax. Cheeks extremely broad, with short broad conical tubercle anteriorly. Mandibles long, quadrate expansion at base on outer side, tapering from middle and each reaching, when closed, nearly to base of other. Proboscis moderately long, apex of galeae not reaching base of stipites in repose. Sculpture and pubescence about as in female, but face and mesonotum more weakly tessellate and more shining and face impunctate. Tergite 7 rather narrowly obtuse at apex. Subgenital plate narrowly triangular; apex rounded; short, rather dense setae on apical half of convex ventral surface of disk. Dorsal lobes of caulis short and broadly rounded, volsellae well exposed in dorsal view; parameral lobes slightly clavate and hairy on apical half; fused body of sagittae ovate, with rods moderately spread apart apically. Length: 4.5 mm.; anterior wing, 3.4 mm.
|
