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 11 mm.; length of face slightly greater than distance between eyes above; eyes convergent below; malar space very short; facial foveae rather shallow below, deepest above and along inner orbits; clypeus protruding about one-third below suborbital line, very closely, finely, deeply and uniformly punctate; punctures of face above very fine and close, those on vertex becoming minute and indistinct, as also on cheeks above, these becoming somewhat more distinct below; segments of flagellum about as long as broad, dark reddish-piceous beneath, blackish above, basal segment of flagellum somewhat longer; pubescence of face, vertex and dorsum of thorax fulvous, becoming whitish on cheeks below and on thorax laterally and beneath; lateral angles of pronotum not produced; metapleural protuberance very low, not carinate; front coxal spines evident, legs blackish in general, the spurs testaceous; tegulae yellowish-hyaline, almost impunctate; wings hyaline, veins testaceous to brownish, stigma more brownish; anterior half of scutum densely and rather finely rugoso-punctate, posterior half with more distinct punctures, rather widely separated in center of disc; punctures of scutellum rather deep, but fine and irregular; pleura dull, densely tessellate and very finely and obscurely roughened, punctures hardly evident; dorsal area of propodeum extremely narrow, with distinct and rather widely separated, short striae, lateral faces smooth, but not shining, posterior face somewhat shining, with few scattered, minute punctures; abdominal terga uniformly, minutely and very closely punctate, blackish, with faint metallic tints evident, apical margins only slightly depressed, covered with dense, entire, pale ochraceous fasciae, the discs with very short and thin, pale pile, this becoming more conspicuous and elongate on the more apical segments.
MALE�Length 9 mm.; face considerably longer than distance between eyes above; eyes convergent below; malar space short, about one-fourth as long as basal width of mandible; facial foveae small and shallow, but clearly evident; clypeus protruding only slightly below suborbital line, very densely and finely punctate beneath the dense, pale pubescence; upper portion of face and vertex smooth but rather dull, minutely and indistinctly punctate, punctures of clypeus very close and fine but obscure; segments of flagellum dull ferruginous beneath, more piceous above, slightly longer than broad, the basal segment about equal in length to the others, considerably longer than pedicel; pubescence of face, vertex and dorsum of thorax pale ochraceous, becoming whitish on cheeks and on thorax laterally and beneath; lateral angles of pronotum not produced; metapleural protuberance very low, not carinate; legs piceous basally, tarsi becoming testaceous apically and spurs testaceous; tegulae yellowish-hyaline; wings subhyaline, veins and stigma brownish-testaceous; scutum very finely and closely, but deeply and distinctly punctate over anterior half, posterior half rather sparsely punctate in center of disc, scutellum with scattered, rather sparse punctures anteriorly, these becoming very close posteriorly; pleura dull, tessellate, obscurely and closely punctate; dorsal area of propodeum rather short, with widely separated short striae, lateral faces dull, obscurely roughened posteriorly, posterior face somewhat more shining; abdominal terga rather dull, very finely, closely and quite uniformly punctate, apical margins slightly depressed, hyaline, with rather narrow but dense and entire, white, apical fasciae on segments 1-5, discs with very short inconspicuous brownish pile.
DISTRIBUTION�This is so far recorded from Illinois and Virginia, among the Eastern states, and Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Colorado to the west. It is in flight during April (Iowa), August and September.
FLOWER RECORDS�This species has been collected on Cuscuta, and Robertson (1929) records it (as speciosus) on Eryngium yuccifolium.
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