Identification Note: This is the most southern of the sensu strictu group. Females in the deep south sometimes have deep red-orange tibia and tarsal segments.
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 9 mm.; black; pubescence pale yellowish above, becoming more whitish below, very short and thin on head and thorax; length and breadth of head about equal; clypeus slightly convex, projecting slightly more than one-half below suborbital line; eyes slightly convergent below; cheeks subequal to eyes in width; lateral ocelli somewhat nearer margin of vertex than to eyes; punctures very close, deep and distinct above antennae, becoming rather fine and rather widely separated on supraclypeal area, coarse, deep and well separated on clypeus, very fine and well separated on the shining area between eyes and ocelli, vertex and cheeks substriate; scutum shining, punctures deep and distinct, well separated but not sparse over most of disc, those on scutellum widely separated; pleura quite coarsely rugoso-striate; dorsal area of propodeum rather finely but regularly striate, these striae, however, not quite reaching hind margin of the area, posterior surface distinctly carinate laterally; wings lightly infuscated at base, becoming somewhat darker toward apex, veins and stigma more ferruginous; tegulae piceous, anterior rim yellowishhyaline; legs blackish basally, but becoming more or less pale ferruginous apically; hind basitibial plate sub acute apically; abdominal terga dull, with a rather distinct, bluish bloom, punctures very minute and indistinct, hardly visible, terga 2-4 with dense, yellowish-white, basal fasciae, that on 2 subinterrupted medially, discal pubescence very thin and obscure, sub- erect, entirely pale.
MALE—Length S mm.; black, somewhat less than half of the clypeus yellowish apically; pubescence very short, thin and obscure, pale yellowish above, becoming whitish below; length and breadth of face equal; clypeus rather strongly protuberant, projecting about two-thirds below suborbital line; eyes rather strongly convergent below; mandibles simple, rather short; labrum broad and short, its apical margin simple, not at all produced medially; cheeks slightly narrower than eyes; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes and margin of vertex; basal segment of flagellum slightly longer than pedicel, following segments considerably longer, piceous below, blackish above; punctures very fine, close and deep above antennae, becoming obscure below, but those on clypeus quite deep, distinct, well separated and rather coarse, vertex very obscurely sculptured, cheeks very finely rugoso-striate above, becoming relatively smooth below; scutum somewhat shining, punctures rather fine, deep and distinct, quite uniform, slightly separated medially, very close laterally, those on scutellum somewhat more widely separated, variable in size; pleura rather finely rugoso-striate; dorsal area of propodeum rather coarsely rugoso-striate, posterior face with quite distinct lateral carinae; wings faintly infuscated, veins and stigma brownish-ferruginous; tegulae piceous, anterior rim yellowish-hyaline; basal segments of legs blackish, tibiae ferruginous at base and apex, tarsi yellowish-ferruginous; abdominal terga somewhat shining, punctures very fine but rather deep and distinct, quite close even on basal segments, terga 2-4 with rather dense, basal, yellowish-white fasciae, discal pubescence extremely short and obscure; apical margin of sternum 5 slightly incurved, 6 rounded, rather uniformly but very minutely sculptured, and with very fine, pale pubescence; gonostylus narrow and rather short, clothed with fine setae, the ventral retrorse lobe broad, often directed toward mid line of armature, clothed with short, fine pubescence.
DISTRIBUTION—Nova Scotia to Ontario, south to Texas and Florida; April to November.
FLOWER RECORDS—Aronia, Aster, Batodendron, Brassica, Geranium, flex,
Linaria, Lyonia, Malus, Prunus, Rhus, Salix, Vaccinium, Viburnum and Vitis.
Robertson (1929) records this species also Circaea and Diospyros. The synonymy of capitulatus with fuscipenne is based upon examination of a specimen in the Vachal collection which probably the type, being unique, but is not so labeled.
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