Reprinted with permission from: Rightmyer, M.G. A Review of the Cleptoparasitic Bee Genus Triepeolus (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
TRIEPEOLUS RUFITHORAX GRAENICHER
(Figs. 193–195, 245)
Triepeolus rufithorax Graenicher 1928: 279–281 [Holotype: U. S. National Museum of Natural History No. 41793; female, Miami (Miami-Dade Co.), Florida; 16 July 1927]; Rozen 1966: 4, Fig. 1 [position of egg within host cell]; Mitchell 1962: 481, 482, Fig. 112 [redescription, illustration of scutellum, axillae].
Triepeolus alachuensis Mitchell 1962: 462 [Holotype: Florida State Collection of Arthropods; female, Alachua Co., Florida; 12 May 1959; Melilotus alba]. new synonymy
Description.—Length ca. 10.5–14 mm; ITW 2.0–3.1 mm. Integument black or brown, with the following entirely or partly red: mandible, labrum, clypeus, interantennal area (sometimes), basal or entire antennae, dorsal surface of mesosoma, and often parts of metasomal terga; in addition, integument orange on legs. Clypeus with strong midline and faint larger punctures (sometimes covered by white, medially-directed setae, especially in males). Paramedian band narrow and clearly separated from other pale setae on mesoscutum, or absent, sometimes with dark integumental coloration where the paramedian band would normally be found. Scutellum moderately bigibbous; axillar spine triangular with pointed apex, reaching or surpassing scutellar midpoint. Wings entirely dusky. Mesepisternum lacking erect, simple setae or with short, sparse, suberect, simple setae; with dense, white and/or black, branched setae on upper third (absent on hypoepimeron), mostly asetose especially ventrally (sparsely setose in males); irregularly punctate, punctures almost contiguous to separated by two puncture diameters. T1 discal patch variable, variously appearing trapezoidal, rectangular, or triangular, sometimes with BTB reduced or entirely absent; T2 with LLB absent or reduced, forming weakly acute angle with ATB. (Metasomal tergal bands sometimes very narrow.) Female: Pseudopygidial area subovate to subquadrate, with distinct basal crescent extending laterally to apical margin and partially surrounding medial area of coarse setae; S3–S4 (sometimes also S2) with pale banding apicolaterally; S5 slightly downcurved apically. Male: Pygidial plate of moderate size, keyhole shaped with distinct basal transverse ridge; S2–S3 with white apical setae, somewhat extended medially on S3; S4–S5 with apical fringes brown.
Comments.—Blacker individuals of this species might be confused with T. lunatus, because of the similar shape of the T1 discal patch and the pseudopygidial area; see comments under that species.
The T. alachuensis holotype has red integumental coloration restricted apically and laterally on the clypeus, the axillar spines, and anterolaterally on the mesoscutum; orange coloration on the antennae basal to the base of F2, the tegula, the pronotal lobes, and the legs; the T1 discal patch is trapezoidal; and the metasomal banding is narrow. It arguably might have also been synonymized under T. lunatus, but I have placed it here due to the similar type localities of T. alachuensis and T. rufithorax.
Distribution.—USA: Alabama, Florida, Georgia.
Host Records.—Svastra sp. (2 specimens “from burrow,” in Everglades National Park, Florida); Svastra (Epimelissodes) obliqua obliqua (Say) (Rozen, 1964, adults entering nest, egg found in cell).
Floral Records.—Bidens pilosa L., Borrichia frutescens (L.) DC., Lythrum lineare L.
Seasonal Records.—13 March to 7 September.
Specimens examined.—97 female, 38 male (ANN ARBOR, BOULDER, GAINESVILLE, ITHACA, LAWRENCE, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, URBANA, WASHINGTON D.C.).
FEMALE—Length 11 mm.; black, thorax and basal tergum chiefly ferruginous, clypeus, labrum, mandibles, legs and tegulae more testaceous, spurs yellowish to testaceous; basal segment of flagellum much shorter than segment 2, these largely testaceous, following segments slightly longer than broad, brownish below, black above; space between margin of vertex and lateral ocelli considerably less than their diameter; cheeks very narrow, about one-third width of eyes, and narrower below, posterior margin carinate; median length of labrum slightly greater than half the breadth; posterior margin of scutum quite strongly outcurved, shallowly depressed medially, free part of axillae rather strongly divergent from sides of scutellum but quite short, reaching slightly beyond mid transverse line of scutellum (fig. 112); wings rather strongly fuliginous, with the usual three submarginal cells, veins piceous; face with a small amount of appressed, pale tomentum around bases of antennae and some sparse, more erect, rather elongate hairs toward ocelli; margin of pronotum densely yellow tomentose, tubercles bare but with a marginal fringe of short yellowish hairs; scutum largely bare, but often with a pair of very short and narrow lines of yellowish tomentum on each side of mid-line, anterior to mid transverse line; metanotum and adjacent margin of scutellum rather densely yellowish tomentose, with a rather dense tuft of elongate, yellowish hairs at each extreme side, back of wing bases; basal abdominal tergum with a median, triangular patch of dark tomentum, the more basal areas on each side broadly yellow tomentose, and a subapical, transverse fascia of yellow tomentum which is rather widely interrupted medially; terga 2-4 conspicuously yellowish-hyaline apically, with transverse, yellow tomentose fasciae, tergum 5 largely covered with greyish tomentum on each side of pseudopygidium; tegulae very minutely and closely punctate anteriorly and along inner margin, largely impunctate posteriorly; punctures of face above antennae quite coarse, deep and close, but not crowded, becoming somewhat finer and irregular across vertex and on cheeks, surface below antennae very finely and closely punctate, clypeus with a very narrow, median, impunctate line, and with scattered, rather large, shallow punctures superimposed on the more finely punctate field; scutum rather coarsely rugosopunctate throughout, scutellum somewhat more finely so, and axillae with a few shining interspaces evident; pleura with scattered, rather coarse and deep punctures that are rather widely separated, interspaces shining, becoming densely and more finely rugoso-punctate above; discs of abdominal terga beneath the dark tomentum very finely, closely and regularly punctate throughout; median length of pseudopygidium about equal to apical width, broadly rounded or subtruncate apically, covered with short, suberect, very fine, dark setae; sternum 5 broadly convex as seen from beneath.
MALE—Resembles female in general; scutum sometimes darkened; abdominal terga 5 and 6 with rather broad, apical, tomentose fasciae; sterna 2 and 3 rather broadly but thinly white fasciate apically, 4 and 5 with conspicuous, subapical fringes of elongate, more or less curved setae; pygidial plate strongly elevated above disc of tergum 7, with a distinct, transverse, submedian ridge, this part slightly longer than broad, rather narrowly rounded apically, margin carinate, surface with only a few minute and obscure punctures.
DISTRIBUTION — Florida; April to October.
FLOWER RECORDS — Bidens, Borrichia and Melilotus.
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