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Extracted from: Timberlake P.H., (1969). A Contribution to the Systematics of North America Species of Synhalonia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). University of California Publications in Entomology Volume 57
This is a common vernal species of our western deserts and is similar to phaceliae, but the male has middle tibiae strongly excavated beneath, and the female has narrower abdominal bands and lacks the smooth space on the clypeus.
Male.—Black; small joints of tarsi ferruginous, apical half of claws red; tibial spurs pale testaceous. Tegulae fuscous, but amber at apex. Wings almost clear hyaline, nervures mostly dusky ferruginous, subcosta black. Labrum, clypeus, and small triangular supraclypeal mark pale yellow. Earely a dot on base of mandibles. Clypeal mark reaching close to margin of eyes and squarely notched on each side. Pubescence moderately long, erect, not dense enough to conceal surface of notum, but denser beneath and on cheeks. Hair of head and thorax white, or pale ochreous on notum of thorax. Hair of tergite 1 rather long, erect, and entirely white, that of following segments tending to be entirely black, but hair of tergite 2 somewhat white across the middle or entirely white, and sometimes white apical bands more or less developed on following segments, especially on tergites 5 and 6. Hair of venter mostly black, but sometimes with white fringes on sternites 1 and 2. Hair of legs white, but ferruginous on inner side of tarsi.
Head much broader than long; inner orbits moderately divergent above. Vertex rather strongly impressed on each side; lateral ocelli about their own diameter from occipital margin and more than twice their diameter from nearest eye. Oculoclypeal space very narrow. Antennae reach¬ing apex of tergite 1, moderately slender and compressed; joint 3 as long as scape and two-thirds as long as joint 4. Middle tibiae concavely excavated on apical half beneath, forming an obtuse angle at middle of anterior margin of out face. Middle basitarsi straight, hardly longer than tibiae, widest at about one-fifth of its length from base, thence tapering to about one-third of its width to apex. Clypeus shining, with weak moderately close punctures. Mesonotum dull, finely and densely punctured, posterior middle of scutum slightly more shining and more sparsely punc¬tured. Scutellum densely punctured. Abdomen minutely and densely punctured almost to apical margin of segments. Sternite 6 shallowly and obliquely impressed on each side toward base, forming weak lateral ridges; hair of disk very short, erect, fucous, located on each side between lateral ridges and margin and in large patch across base. Sternites 7 and 8 as figured. Parameral lobes of genital armature broad at base, triangularly dilated at truncate apex and constricted at middle; vestiture of outer face dusky, rather short, and mostly restricted to basal expansion. Length 11-15 mm, anterior wings 9-9.5 mm.
Female.—Black; small joints of tarsi dark ferruginous; apical half of claws red; tibial spurs testaceous. Tegulae as in male. Wings rather faintly dusky, nervures piceous, subcosta black. Pubescence entirely white on head and thorax, or pale ochreous above, rather long and moderately dense on mesonotum, and longer and denser beneath and on cheeks. Hair of tergite 1 white, moderately long and erect, with appressed hair apically on each side, and that of following seg¬ments mostly very short and appressed, but with a few long, pale hairs interspersed. Tergites 2 to 4 with broad white bands, that on tergite 2 covering most of disk, but receding broadly from apical margin across middle and leaving base of segment black-haired on but little more than part normally concealed by preceding segment. Basal half, more or less, of tergites 3 to 5 black. Apical band on tergite 5 white on each side, but median third or more brown, and hair on tergite 6 brown, becoming black on apex. Apical fringes of venter white, but fringe on sternite 5 brown except on each side. Hair of legs white, but scopal hair of hind legs tinged with ochreous, that on inner side of middle and hind tarsi ferruginous, and hair of front tarsi fulvous brown.
Head much broader than long; inner orbits of eyes slightly converging above. Vertex slightly impressed on each side; lateral ocelli slightly less than their distance apart from nearest eye and about their diameter from occipital margin. Proboscis moderately long, galeae somewhat dull and nearly hairless. Second submarginal cell receiving recurrent nervure about one-fifth to one-fourth of its length from apex. Clypeus moderately shining, rather finely and moderately closely punctured, with ridges or spaces between punctures mostly longitudinal and sometimes wider in median line, without forming definite impunctate line. Frons and vertex closely and finely punc¬tured. Thorax dull, with posterior middle of mesoscutum more shining; punctures of scutum small, but strong and close, becoming slightly separated on posterior middle of disk; scutellum more finely and densely punctured. Abdomen minutely and densely punctured; apical depression of tergite 1 except for each side, that of tergite 2 broadly in middle, and that of tergite 3 much less broadly impunctate and hairless. Length 12-14 mm, anterior wing 8.5-9 mm, width of abdomen 4.8-5.4 mm.
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