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Extracted with permission from: Onuferko, T.M. 2017. Cleptoparasitic Bees of the Genus Epeolus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Canada. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No. 30: March 30, 2017. doi:10.3752/cjai.2017.30
http://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/o_30/o_30.html
Diagnosis. Although separated from E. bifasciatus in the key,
this species most closely resembles E. ilicis among Canadian
Epeolus, particularly in the campanulate shape of the
pseudopygidial area of T5 in the female. Epeolus �uds and E.
lectoides exhibit several structural similarities (F2 of female
antenna noticeably longer than wide, axilla distinctly hooked,
and metasomal terga with sparse punctation), but in contrast to
E. luc�s the mandible of E. lectoides is with a preapical tooth,
the ventrolateral half of the mesopleuron of E. lectoides �s
sparsely punctate, and the axilla of E. Iectoides is angled
posteriorly and its tip extends well beyond the midlength of the
mesoscutellum.
Distribution in Canada: Central Canada (Map 9).
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 8-10 mm.; black, scape and basal segment of flagellum more testaceous, antennae otherwise brownish-piceous; mandibles and tubercles more or less reddened, tegulae and legs testaceous, axillae sometimes reddened; lateral ocelli separated from margin of vertex by about their own diameter; cheeks very narrow, subcarinate posteriorly; labrum considerably broader than median length, the subapical tubercles quite distinct; mandibles simple, inner margin not angulate; scutellum quite deeply impressed medially on posterior margin (fig. 110), axillae robust, acute, tips strongly divergent from sides of scutellum, subcarinate laterally; wings with the usual three submarginal cells, hyaline basally, becoming rather deeply infuscated apically, veins brownish; pubescence very short, either very thin or appressed, front of face densely silvery tomentose, and venter of thorax covered with dense, silvery tomentum, the scale-like hairs becoming sparse on pleura above; pronotum quite densely covered with pale yellowish tomentum, scutum with a pair of anterior, longitudinal patches of yellowish tomentum on each side of midline; abdominal terga 1-4 with transverse, subapical, pale yellowish fasciae that are narrowly interrupted medially, that on tergum 1 rather broad but quite narrow, somewhat separated from margin of plate on 2-4, 5 with a broad patch of dense, greyish tomentum on each side; punctures quite deep and distinct in general, rather sparse between ocelli and eyes and below ocelli, becoming fine and close on lower portion of face and on cheeks; punctures deep and distinct, quite sparse or well separated on pleura below, becoming rather close above, rather close along mid-line of scutum but becoming quite sparse on each side, scutum quite deeply impressed medially on posterior margin, punctures coarse and sub- contiguous, those on axillae coarse and irregular; tegulae very finely and rather closely punctate; punctures of the more basal abdominal terga rather fine but quite deep and distinct, slightly separated in general, but variable, usually bearing very short, dark, plumose setae, apical margins of the terga slightly and rather broadly depressed, becoming yellowish-hyaline along rims, punctures fading out apically, those on tergum 5 minute and very close; pseudopygidium quite extensive, median length much more than half its apical width.
MALE�Agrees in most respects with description of female, but pygidium broadly rounded, median length about equal to basal width, surface rather smooth and only very obscurely punctate.
DISTRIBUTION�Illinois to the New England states, south to Georgia; June to September.
FLOWER RECORDS�Ceanothus, Cephalanthus, Helenium, Hypericum and Rhus. Recorded by Robertson (1929) on Pycnanthemum.
Extracted from: Brumley R.L., (1965). A Revision of the Bee Genus Epeolus Latreille of Western America North of Mexico. All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 2682
Female. Length 7.5 to 9mm; forewing length 7 to 7.5 mm; labrum dark reddish orange to black; scape, pedicel, flagellomere I with combinations of reddish orange, mahogany, remaining flagellomeres dull brownish; legs reddish orange to mahogany; thoraz black; pronotal lobes black or dark red basally, reddish orange apically; tegulae clear reddish orange; axillae dark reddish orange to black; scutellum black often with deep, reddish undertones; metasomal tergites black to dark mahogany, shining through sparse, black pubescence , apices clear ; pygidium dark coppery; clypeus, frons with short, appressed, silvery pubescence, somewhat denser on frons; vertex nearly nude, except few long, erect, straight, silvery hairs anterior, lateral to ocelli; posteromedian margin of head ; pronotum, metanotum with dense , appressed, whitish subsquamiform pubescence; mesopleuron with rather sparse, silvery hairs dorsally , fewer hairs , nearly nude ventrally ; scutum with short , erect , silvery hairs , except silvery squamiform on lateral , posterior margins , two antero-median, longitudinal lines; metasomal tergite I with whitish pubescence, except black antero-laterally , postero-medially, large, transverse band on
disc; tergites II, III, IV with narrow, white, apical fasciae broadened laterally, interrupted medially; tergite V with two broad, white patches lateral to pseudopygidium; sternite V with
a short, coppery to silvery, apical fimbria; pseudopygidium campanulate, about one-third as long as tergite, elevated from rest of tergite, nearly as long as broad, with silvery hairs extending beyond apex of tergite; clyPeus minutely rugoso-punctate medially, punctures smaller, shallower laterally, frons, vertex more coarsely punctured, with large, shining impunctate areas between compound eyes and ocelli, small, dense punctures between lateral ocelli; scutum, scutellum coarsely rugoso-punctate, interspaces often larger than average puncture diameter; mesopleuron with large, widely spaced punctures, separated by two
or three puncture diameters; propodeal enclosure finely rugose dorsally, finely, irregularly, transversely striate medially; remainder of posterior face of propodeum impunctate, shining,
with fine, oblique, irregular striae; forewings with three submarginal cell, fulvous basally, darker apically, veins mahogany; flagellomere II nearly two-thirds as broad as long; axillae long, nearly attaining posterior margin of essentially horizontal dorsal face of scutellum, distinctly free from sides of scutellum, tapered apically; scutellum usually with a deep0 median emargination.
Male. Length 6 to 8 mm; forewing length 6 to 8 mm; In general, agrees with description of female but differs as follows: flagellomere II more than three-fourths as broad as long; pygidium dark red to black, broadly to moderately rounded apically, with shallow, irregular punctures; apical row of hairs on sternites IV, V golden to coppery basally, often darker apically; antennae, axillae, scutellum often entirely black; lower one half of mesopleuron lvith punctures often only one puncture diameter apart.
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E. lectoides is a very distinctive bee. In both sexes the axillae are strongly hooked, with the pointed end of that hook being long, quite acute, and reaching nearly to the rear edge of the scutellum. Also, the pattern of pits on the thorax is very distinct. On the scutum, scutellum, and mesopleura the surface is extremely smooth and shiny and the pits are large and sparse. The interpit spaces are irregular with many spaces being as large or larger than the pits. In the East, this pattern of pits and overall appearance of the surfaces of the thorax is specific to this species.
Epeolus Female
E. lectoides most closely resembles E. ilicis, as it agrees in the large, campanulate pseudopygid
ium, the form of the axillae and scutellum, and pubescent markings. It can be separated from that species by the presence of subapical rows of hairs on male sternites IV and V, and by differences in the puncturation of the scutum and mesopleuron. -->
Extracted from: Onuferko TM (2018). A revision of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Epeolus Latreille for Nearctic species, north of Mexico (Hymenoptera, Apidae). ZooKeys 755: 1–185. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.755.23939
Diagnosis. The following morphological features in combination (excluding any that
are specific to the opposite sex of the one being diagnosed) can be used to tell E. lectoides apart from all other North American Epeolus except E. glabratus: the axilla is
elongate, extending well beyond the midlength of the mesoscutellum but not as far
back as its posterior margin, and the free portion is distinctly hooked; the mesopleuron
has sparser punctures ventrolaterally (most i>1d) than in upper half, with the interspaces shining; the metasomal terga have minute, shallow punctures; the T2–T4 fasciae are conspicuously narrowed or interrupted medially; and the pseudopygidial area
of the female is distinctly campanulate with the apex <2 × the medial length. Whereas
in E. glabratus the pronotal collar, axilla, mesoscutellum, and discs of T1 and T2 are
ferruginous and the pale pubescence on the metasomal terga are commonly reduced
to discrete lateral patches, in E. lectoides the pronotal collar is black, as are sometimes
the axilla and mesoscutellum, and the metasomal terga are black and fasciate. Epeolus
lectoides is also similar to E. lectus, but in E. lectus the metasomal terga have coarse, deep
punctures and the T2–T4 fasciae are complete and evenly broad.
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