Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152.
FEMALE—Length 15-19 mm., breadth of abdomen 8-9 mm.; general body color black, with bluish or greenish reflections; wings lightly infuscated basally, becoming somewhat more deeply so apically, veins brownish piceous; cheeks slightly narrower than eyes; clypeus flat, its median length about half the apical width, apical margin nearly straight; mandibles short, apical margin tridentate, not much narrower than the base; labrum much shorter than the breadth, with
small, median, basal tubercle, apical margin somewhat depressed below the median area; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes and each other, much more widely removed from margin of vertex which is very broad; basal segment of flagellum slightly shorter than segments 2-4 combined; punctures of face quite deep and distinct but rather fine, well separated on clypeus and supraclypeal area, somewhat closer toward eyes, surface densely tessellate, densely crowded just above level of antennae, becoming very sparse on vertex and on cheeks above, finer and closer on cheeks below; scutum with a median, shining, impunctate area, the punctures on each side quite deep and distinct but not very coarse, sparse toward median line, becoming quite close laterally; scutellum shining, punctures fine and quite sparse in general, becoming rather close along posterior margin; punctures of pleura quite deep, distinct, rather coarse and close throughout; propodeum dull and tessellate, without evident punctures; abdominal terga smooth, somewhat shining, punctures rather shallow but distinct, quite close laterally, becoming rather sparse medially on 2-5, the apical rims narrowly impunctate; pygidial area of 6 very narrow and elongate, rather poorly defined, punctures on each side rather coarse and close, becoming fine and crowded along lateral margins; hind tibiae with a median, carinate process on outer face; pubescence of head fuscous, very short but more or less erect, rather dense at sides of face and on cheeks below, the vertex practically bare; scutum bare medially, becoming rather copiously short pubescent laterally and anteriorly, largely fuscous but more or less intermixed with pale hairs; scutellum very sparsely pubescent, with a few scattered dark hairs, the posterior margin with a fringe of whitish pubescence; posterior face of propodeum more or less whitish pubescent, with a few intermixed dark hairs, lateral faces, entire pleura and legs black pubescent; abdominal terga 1-4 practically bare, tergum 1 with a small amount of pale pubescence at each extreme side, 4-6 with more or less erect, scattered, black hairs, becoming quite elongate and conspicuous on tergum 6, and terga 5 and 6 with conspicuous tufts of e1ongate whitish hairs laterally.
MALE—Length 16-19 mm., breadth of abdomen 8-9.5 mm.; general body color metallic green or blue, the clypeus, lateral face marks, lower half of supraclypeal area, and basal margin of labrum, bright yellow, maculations abruptly terminated at level of antennae; antennal scape narrowly yellow anteriorly; wings lightly infuscated, veins brownish to piceous; cheeks much narrower than eyes; clypeus flat, its median length nearly equal to the apical width, margin about straight; labrum much broader than the median length, subtruncate apically, margin deeply depressed below the somewhat swollen maculated basal area; mandibles quite short, rather slender, with a robust inner subapical angle or tooth; eyes strongly convergent above, nearly meeting at top of head, the lateral ocelli constricted into a narrow space considerably below top of the head; lateral portions of vertex practically eliminated, eyes occupying most of the upper surface of head; basal segment of flagellum distinctly longer than segments 2 and 3 combined, but shorter than 2-4; front trochanter with an acute posterior spine; hind tibiae with a small, submedian, carinate protuberance; punctures of lower half of face minute and well separated, median area of clypeus rather broadly impunctate, punctures above hardly evident except in the narrow space between upper end of eyes where they are rather fine and well separated; cheeks with fine and rather close punctures below; scutum with a median impunctate area that is shining and somewhat blackened, sparsely but coarsely and deeply punctate on each side, the punctures becoming rather fine and close laterally and anteriorly, this area greenish in color; scutellum bluish-green, shining, punctures fine and rather close posteriorly, becoming quite sparse anteriorly; pleura somewhat shining between fine, deep and distinct, rather close punctures; posterior face of propodeum shining and practically impunctate, lateral faces dull, tessellate, without distinct punctures; abdominal terga 1 and 2 green, becoming bluish apically on 2, with quite deep, distinct and rather close punctures; terga 3.6 blue, the punctures somewhat coarser and more sparse, tergum 6 rather finely punctate medially, becoming sparsely and copiously punctate laterally; apical margins of all terga narrowly shining and impunctate; pubescence of head short but rather dense, rather sparse on face below, yellowish over the maculated areas, with a few dark hairs at each extreme side, dark above antennae, yellowish and quite dense and elongate on cheeks, becoming fuscous above across posterior surface of head; scutum, scutellum and pleura largely covered with dense, rather short, bright yellowish pubescence, median area of scutum bare, with a few dark hairs evident, the metapleura and lateral surface of propodeum fuscous pubescent, and all the coxae quite densely yellowish pubescent; front tibiae and tarsi pale pubescent on outer surface, but tarsi with a rather dense posterior fringe of elongate hairs which are in part fuscous; mid tibiae yellowish pubescent on anterior half, the posterior black pubescent, the basitarsus yellowish pubescent over basal half, black on the apical half and following segments; hind tibiae with but one spur, the lower apical angle prolonged into a stout, slightly curved, shining process, yellow pubescent in general, with elongate hairs below, outer hairs more decumbent but quite dense, tarsi with some elongate pale hairs basally, becoming shorter and black apically; basal abdominal tergum largely yellowish pubescent, tergum 2 with short yellowish pubescence toward base and laterally, but with some short blackish pubescence on disc apically; terga 3-6 with thin, short, suberect black pubescence, 6 with some dense tufts of elongate, fuscous hairs laterally, with a few very elongate pale hairs intermixed, a somewhat similar but shorter tuft on 5 laterally and tergum 7 very densely fringed with fuscous, plumose hairs posteriorly, these slightly interrupted medially by a shorter more sparsely pubescent area; sterna 1-6 exposed, 7 and 8 retracted, form as shown, and genital armature as shown (fig. 127).
DISTRIBUTION — Southeastern Virginia to Florida, throughout the season.
FLOWER RECORDS—Aesculus, Bidens, Cephalanthus, Cicuta, Galactia, Glycine, Hibiscus, hex, Ligustrum, Medicago, Melilotus, Phaseolus, Prunus, Rh us, Richardia, Senecio, Solanum, Solidago, Stach ys, Sunana, and Vernonia.
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