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Sphecodes banksii Lovell, 1909
Life   Insecta   Hymenoptera   Apoidea   Halictidae   Sphecodes
Subgenus: None

Sphecodes banksii, face
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Sphecodes banksii, face

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    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 4 mm.; head and thorax black, abdomen ferruginous, becoming more or less suffused with piceous apically; head slightly broader than long; eyes slightly convergent below; clypeus slightly convex, with a barely perceptible, median impression; labrum very short, apical margin broadly subtruncate, dark basally, becoming brownishkstaceous apically; mandibles simple, rather short, brownish-testaceous medially, more or less blackened at base and reddish at tip; scape and pedicel of antennae black, flagellum brownish- testaceous beneath, more piceous above, segments 1 and 2 slightly broader than long, length and breadth of the following segments subequal; lateral ocelli slightly nearer each other than to eyes; face below ocelli somewhat shining, punctures deep and distinct but fine, slightly separated, those between antennae and eyes more or less obscured by pale tomentum, supraclypeal area somewhat more closely and finely punctate, clypeus finely and very sparsely punctatx; vertex shining between eyes and ocelli, punctures fine and well separated, posterior margin becoming rather finely substriate, and cheeks finely striate above, becoming smooth and shining below; wings subhyaline, with the usual three submarginal cells, veins and stigma brownish-testaceous; tegulae testaceous-hyaline; legs blackish, becoming obscurely brownish apically ; scutum and scutellum somewhat shining, punctures deep and distinct, relatively coarse, quite close but distinctly separated over most of scutum but becoming very close along anterior margin; scutellum with fine, evenly distributed and slightly separated punctures; pleura dull, finely reticulate or rugose; dorsal area of propodeum rather finely but completely rugoso- striate, lateral faces dull, more or less rugose, and posterior face subreticulate; abdominal terga smooth and shining, basal tergum practically impunctate, tergum 2 with minute and rather close punctures across base narrowly, these becoming more sparse and obscure apically, 3 quite closely but very minutely punctate over most of disc, apical margins of all segments yellowish-hyaline, quite broadly impressed and entirely impunctate.

    MALE-Length 4 mm.; entirely black; head very slightly broader than long; eyes somewhat convercent below: cl-v~eusc onvex: mandibles brownish-testaceous,-the base narrowly dark; antennae black basally, flagellum more or less piceous, basal segment slightly broader than long, subequal in length to pedicel, following segments with length and breadth subequal, apical segments becoming slightly thickened; lateral ocelli very slightly nearer each other than to eyes; lower portion of face somewhat obscured by short but rather dense, white tomentum, punctures fine, rather close beneath the pubescence, those on supraclypeal area almost crowded but deep and distinct, those on clypeus more distinctly separated but still rather close, becoming somewhat more coarse and deep on each side of center, and becoming fine and densely crowded apically; upper portion of face finely, but rather deeply, distinctly, and very closely punctate, punctures becoming somewhat more distinctly separated on vertex between eyes and ocelli, hind margin becoming finely roughened; cheeks rather dull, obscurely and finely striate posteriorly, the striae becoming somewhat more distinct below, lower surface relatively smooth and somewhat shining; wings subhyaline, with the usual 3 submarginal cells, veins and stigma brownish-testaceous, stigma being slightly darker; tegulae brownish-testaceous; legs piceous basally, becoming somewhat more brownish-testaceous apically; scutum and scutellum somewhat shining between deep, distinct and rather coarse punctures, these close but not crowded over most of scutum, being considerably finer but still distinctly separated between notaulices and tegulae, becoming crowded along anterior margin, those on scutellum somewhat finer and irregularly scattered; pleura densely rugose; dorsal area of propodeum rather narrow, rather closely striate, posterior margin medially being smooth and shining, lateral faces dull, finely roughened anteriorly, becoming more reticulate posteriorly, and posterior face finely reticulak; abdominal terga smooth and shining between fine but deep, distinct and rather close punctures, basal tergum being well punctured over most of disc, 2 and 3 somewhat more finely and closely punctured, only the narrow, impressed areas being impunctate, these concolorous with basal portion of disc; gonostyli barely exceeding tips of penis valves, short and rather slender, slightly constricted at base, slightly concave on inner side, lacking any conspicuous protuberances or lobes. (similar to atlantis, but inner lobe much smaller, and recurved posteriorly)

    DISTRIBUTION-Minnesota to New York, south to Florida; April to September.

    FLOWER RECORDS-Euphorbia and Melilotus.

    The male of banksii hitherto has not been described.

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Sphecodes banksii, side
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Sphecodes banksii, side
Sphecodes banksii, top
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Sphecodes banksii, top

Sphecodes banksii, wing
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Sphecodes banksii, wing
Sphecodes banksii, female, face
© John B. Pascarella, Valdosta State University, Georgia · 1
Sphecodes banksii, female, face

Sphecodes banksii, female, face side
© John B. Pascarella, Valdosta State University, Georgia · 1
Sphecodes banksii, female, face side
Sphecodes banksii, female, wing
© John B. Pascarella, Valdosta State University, Georgia · 1
Sphecodes banksii, female, wing

Sphecodes banksii, female, antennaecloser
© Copyright source/photographer · 1
Sphecodes banksii, female, antennaecloser
Sphecodes banksii, female, mandiblescloser
© Copyright source/photographer · 1
Sphecodes banksii, female, mandiblescloser

Sphecodes banksii, female, mesepisternumside2
© Copyright source/photographer · 1
Sphecodes banksii, female, mesepisternumside2
Sphecodes banksii, female, vertex
© Copyright source/photographer · 1
Sphecodes banksii, female, vertex
Identification
Notes on female holotype by Droege... Length of pedicel and F1 a bit longer than broad, not as stated in Mitchell. Tip of humeral angle appears to be extra sharp. Mandible entire. Pits on scutum dense almost all of them touching one another. Pits on T2 about 1 pit apart or less at base and gradually decreasing to edge of depressed area. Clear setae, slightly curved setae present on dorsal edge of tibia, perhaps about 5, barbs present on surrounding hairs, setae about three-quarters the size of the hairs. Mound below the base of the front wing rugose.

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FamilyScientific name @ source (records)
Asteraceae  Solidago @ CUIC_ENT (1)

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Updated: 2024-03-28 11:15:54 gmt
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